Love Is: Not Denying Emotion
by redsandman99
Summary: Sequel to Love Is: Protection. As Matt tries to help Adam come to terms with everything Dave did to him in the past, Jeff gets more than he bargained for when James shows up and Mark's dark past begins to be revealed.
1. Chapter 1

Matt hummed under his breath as he made some popcorn. Earlier that day, he, Adam and Jeff had rented a whole bunch of movies, and now they were planning on watching them. Hopefully, if all went to plan, the three of them would have a nice, quiet and relaxing night ahead of them.

"We are not mixing Skittles in with our mini marshmallows and popcorn!" Adam yelled at Jeff as he followed the Rainbow Haired Warrior into the kitchen. "That candy does not go with everything Jeffery Nero!"

Jeff turned around, his eyes absolutely blazing at this point. "They do too Adam Joseph! Skittles go with everything because they are a bite sized fruity rainbow. M&M's are not that. They are just chocolate with different colored shells. There is nothing special about them!"

"M&M's are an American constitution!" Adam replied. "They're like baseball for God's sake!"

Jeff looked at him incredulously. "Why should that matter to you? You're Canadian!"

Matt raised his eyebrows in surprise. Jeff might have just won that argument. "Good point little brother," he said as he patted Jeff on the back. "But unfortunately, M&M's do go better with popcorn and mini marshmallows, so I'm still taking Adam's side on this one."

"Yes!" Adam cheered. He smirked at Jeff. "In your face! In your face! In your--"

Jeff raised his hand like he was going to slap Adam, which made the Rated R Superstar jump back and flinch uncontrollably. Matt immediately grabbed Jeff's wrist and forcibly lowered his arm. "What are you doing?" he whispered angrily. "Are you trying to give him a heart attack?"

A guilty look went across Jeff's face. In the heat of moment, he had obviously forgotten how sensitive Adam still was to having a hand raised to him. It had only been two weeks since Dave had died, and since that time, Matt had noticed that Adam was having a hard time getting used to the fact that he didn't have to constantly be afraid anymore. It wasn't as bad when they were together, but the others had told him that Adam was absolutely jumpy and scared whenever he wasn't around.

"Sorry Addy," Jeff said quietly.

Adam shook his head. "I'm fine. I just…I…I'm going to the living room now."

Matt watched him go before turning to face Jeff. "What the hell did you do that for?" he asked. "Really, was that necessary?"

"I wasn't thinking, alright?" Jeff said. He was starting to sound like he was getting pissed. "It's kind of hard to remember what scares him when he flinches at everything these days."

"Well what do you expect? Dave put him through the ringer." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. He knew that was just the wrong thing to say to Jeff. It made it sound like he had forgotten what Dave had done to Jeff.

Jeff just shook his head. "Whatever man." He started walking towards the back door. "You and Adam have a good time tonight. He's your priority anyway, so you should just go ahead and be with him."

"Damn it Jeff, don't be like this," Matt said as he began chasing after Jeff. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Really? Then what did you mean Matt?" Jeff stopped walking and turned around to get in Matt's face.

Matt sighed. "Jeff, I know Dave put you through hell. We all know what he did to you. But it feels like that every time any of us try to help you, you get mad and tell us you don't need help. But when we don't help you enough for your liking, you get mad and act like we don't care about you. It's really fucking confusing and I don't know what to do anymore. I love you and it's killing me to see you like this."

Jeff stared at him for a minute before shaking his head. "Well I'll help you out by going home for now. I wouldn't want Addy to lose his Matty."

Matt groaned as Jeff stormed out. He was so damn moody that it was nearly impossible to talk to him. He was acting like he did right around the time he had his whole drug problem and it was worrying Matt out of his mind. He wanted to help his little brother desperately, but he didn't feel like he was getting through to Jeff at all. _Mark. I have to get Mark to talk to him. Mark will be able to help him because Mark's amazing like that. He always saves the day._

XXXXXXXX

James propped his feet up on the pew in front of him. This was an entirely new experience for him. He had never actually been inside a church before tonight, and he wasn't all that impressed. He had always figured he would get struck down by lightning as soon as he stepped into one, and the fact that he hadn't been was disappointing to say the least. "So when am I supposed to start feeling God's presence?" he asked the priest he had tied up at his feet. "I thought this was his house. Isn't he supposed to be here to punish me for my wicked ways?"

The priest, who was better known as Father Johnson to the people who attended the church, didn't say anything to him. He just kept staring at James like he was the devil or something.

James just grinned and pushed Father Johnson's head around with his foot. "Come on Padre, don't be all quiet. It's not like you're going to live through the night either way, so you might as well talk to me. I'll make your death much more painful if you can't help me carry a decent conversation."

Father Johnson stared at James for a moment before finally speaking. "God is here my son," he said quietly. "It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not."

"Why? Is it just because you say so? Do you assume that just because you believe in God that he's actually here? Do you think he actually cares? Because honestly, if he loves you as much as you obviously think he does, then he would send some sort of miracle to save your sorry ass." James grabbed his pack of cigarettes and took one out. "Maybe it's just me. I don't understand any religion, so you shouldn't take any of this personally Padre. I just don't get the appeal of putting all of your faith in a higher being that may or may not exist."

"So what do you believe in?" Father Johnson asked. "You have to believe in something."

James thought about that for a minute. "I believe that everyone shapes their own fate," he admitted. "And how each person shapes it affects everyone around them. I also believe evil is a matter of perception. I mean, I've been a killer basically all of my life and I don't think I'm evil at all. I'm just a guy who's doing what makes him happy. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"You don't think it's wrong to take an innocent life?"

"Thinking is overrated Padre," James said. "I'm a man of action." That was when he took out the gun he had been hiding and shot Father Johnson in the head. Laughing to himself, he got up and left the church. There had been no real purpose to that whole conversation other than to kill some time before he flew out to Sacramento, which was where the next Smackdown was taking place. He had been thinking about Mark and Jeff nonstop for the past two weeks and he couldn't take it anymore. He had been through too much with Mark to just lose him now. As for Jeff, well James got why Mark had fallen for him. He really did. He remembered the way Jeff looked while he had been sleeping. It had been enough to make James infatuated with the younger man. And when James started to like something, he made it his. Mark had found that out a long time ago, and it was a lesson that probably had not been forgotten. It would only be a matter of time before Jeff learned that too.

"One, twenty one guns," James sang under his breath as he got in his car. "Oh Sacramento, here I come…"


	2. Chapter 2

When Mark arrived at the arena a few days later, he found Phil, Ted, Morrison and Evan all sitting outside together. The way they were huddled together and giggling like a bunch of idiots told him that they were up to something. "What the fuck are you morons doing?" he asked as he got out of his car. "If you people are planning another damn sleepover, you can forget about inviting me. I am NOT putting up with the crap you idiots pull when you all get together and can't sleep."

Phil shook his head. "Don't worry man, we're not planning a sleepover. We're just discussing an interesting trend Ted has noticed over the past couple of weeks."

"You mean he's finally noticed he still can't grow facial hair?" Mark asked.

Ted glared at him. "No you undead bastard! I think Randy and Cody like each other."

Mark sighed. "Well that's just great. That's exactly what we need: Legacy's oversexed leader and the brain dead baby of the group hooking up."

"Aw come on Mark, they would be cute together," Evan insisted. "That's why we're going to play Cupid for them."

"Well good luck with that," Mark said as he started heading towards the arena entrance. "I hope that works out well for all of you, but I doubt it will because you are all morons."

Morrison cocked his eyebrow. "Jesus Mark, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something? Why are you so damn grouchy?"

Mark shrugged. "I'm just a grumpy bastard." He went into the arena, leaving the four younger superstars to talk among themselves. He began heading towards his dressing room when he ran into Matt. He knew something was wrong just by the look on the dark haired man's face. "Do I even want to know what's wrong?" he asked.

Matt sighed. "Can you talk to Jeff for me? He's been really moody these past couple of days and nothing I say or do seems to help. Adam's been trying really hard too to make him feel better, but he's not getting through to him either."

"Okay," Mark agreed. As much as he would like to just sit back and relax inside his locker room before the show started, his concern over Jeff took precedence above that. He knew that being raped by Dave had caused more psychological damage than Jeff was willing to let on, and he was worried about the way the young man was withdrawing into himself. "I'll see what I can do for him."

Matt gave him a grateful look. "Thanks man. I really appreciate this. Jeff was in the catering area the last time I saw him, so you should see if he's still there."

Mark assured Matt he would do just that. He quickly dropped his bags off in his dressing room and went to where Matt had told him to go. As it turned out, Jeff was still there, and he was sitting all by himself, just coloring a piece of notebook paper black with a pen. "Hey kid," Mark said as he sat down next to Jeff. "What are you doing?"

"Coloring," Jeff said with a shrug. His face was all pale and he had bags underneath his eyes.

"You've been sleeping okay kid?" Mark asked. "You look like death warmed over."

Jeff stopped his coloring and looked at Mark. He looked so worn down and tired that it was enough to break even the coldest of hearts. "Did Matt make you come and talk to me?"

Mark shook his head. "He only asked that I would. He's worried about you. Hell, everyone is worried about you. We hate seeing you all depressed and falling apart like this."

Jeff looked down at his feet. "Well how the fuck am I supposed to act? I can't pretend that nothing happened because every time I close my eyes, Dave is fucking attacking me again. But I can't talk to anyone because the only one who would even begin to understand what I went through is Adam, and he freaks out if he even hears Dave's name."

"Well maybe instead of being so focused on the fact nobody else has been raped by Dave, maybe you should just talk to one of us and get this shit off your chest," Mark told him. "Bottling it all up isn't helping you Jeff. It's just killing you." _And I know a thing or two about killing._

Mark blinked and tried to shake off that thought. He had been trying not to think about the whole killing thing because it was a path he no longer went down. It wasn't that he actually regretted during the past; it was just that he couldn't be that guy anymore. The somewhat normal life he had built for himself would be lost if he let his monster out, or even if someone found out about it. He wasn't like James. He didn't want the constant chaos and insanity. There were other things he needed from life than killing people.

"Mark?" Jeff said slowly. "You okay?"

Mark shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I was just thinking some thoughts that I should have just left alone."

"Like what?"

"Bad stuff. Now I thought we were talking about you."

Jeff shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it right here. There's just too many people around." He chewed on his fingernails and gave Mark a nervous look. "But can I ask you something?" he asked tentatively.

Mark nodded. "Of course you can."

"You don't think I'm disgusting, do you?"

Mark looked at him in shock. "What? No! Of course I don't. What the hell kind of question is that?"

Jeff just kind of shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought I needed to ask and make sure."

_The damn boy has been putting terrible fucking ideas in his own head_, Mark thought as placed his fingers on Jeff's jaw and made the younger man look him in the eyes. He was going to scold Jeff for even thinking like that, but he couldn't get the words out. Instead he began inching his way towards Jeff's lips, fully intending to do what he should have done a long time ago.

Only he didn't get his chance to do it. His cell phone went off at that moment, breaking the moment between himself and Jeff. "Someone has terrible timing," Jeff said under his breath.

Mark slowly took his phone out of his pocket, knowing it was only a text. But the ringtone was _Back in Black_, which meant that it was from James. And since ignoring James's texts had never led to anything good in the past, so he decided to just take a look and see what it said.

**I'm here Marky.**

That was all it said. Mark reread it about five times, a flood of emotions going through him. This couldn't be good. James was here? James was in the mother fucking arena? Son of a fucking bitch!

"What's wrong?" Jeff asked. He was trying to take a look at Mark's phone. "Who is it? What does it say?"

"It's nothing," Mark lied. He quickly texted James this: **Come to the Hilton room 37 after the show. I'll talk 2u there**. He knew that if he didn't arrange a meeting with James later, the nut job would just try to hunt him down and that would just lead to even more trouble. "Let's just go find Matt. I'm sure he's really worried about you."

XXXXXXXXXX

Adam giggled as Matt tickled the side of his face with a feather. "Matt stop that," he tried to order. "I have to go out and wrestle soon, and you're making me not want to get up."

"So don't get up," Matt replied. He kissed Adam on the lips. "We'll make someone else go out and wrestle for you."

While that sounded like a good plan to Adam, he doubted very much that Vince would go for it. Still, he couldn't bring himself to get up yet. He just kissed Matt back and moaned as the brunette deepened it, dominating his mouth with his tongue.

"John, this isn't the right time to be asking them this."

"Why not? What could they possibly be doing in there that is so important?"

Adam sighed and looked over at the door. He could hear Shawn and John talking plain as day on the other side of the door. "We're trying to make out in here!" he yelled at them. "What do you two want?"

"We need a pair of your handcuffs!" John replied. "Shawn and I want to get kinky after the show tonight."

"John!" Shawn exclaimed. "You can't tell them that! That's private!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Phil's got my handcuffs you idiots! You need to talk to him!"

"Why does Phil have the handcuffs?" Adam asked as he listened to Shawn and John walk away.

Matt shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't ask for the specifics." He looked at his watch. "Damn it, your match is coming up way too soon. I don't even think we'll have time for that quickie I wanted to squeeze in."

Adam kissed him sympathetically. "It's okay baby. You can just fuck me all night after we get back to the hotel."

Matt grinned. "You know I will be holding you to that promise, right?"

Adam grinned back at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way baby."


	3. Chapter 3

James wanted nothing more than to be in the damn hotel room with Mark already, but he had to pay damn good money for the ticket so he decided to just stay and watch the show. It had been awhile since he had last been at a wrestling event. The last one had been Wrestlemania 24, where Mark had asked him to come along so they could enjoy a little vacation together during all the festivities. Actually, the only time he ever came to wrestling things was either when Mark asked him to or if he was looking to surprise the Deadman. He had issues being around a lot of people who yelled like idiots. It made him want to kill someone.

_Well you better resist that fucking urge,_ he told himself. _You'll never get what you want from Mark if you go on a mass killing spree at the place he works._

For once, that did help him keep his cool. He grinned and continued watching the show. When Jeff came out for his match, he made sure to watch extra carefully. Little Jeffery had no idea what awaited him. James wasn't going to let just anyone come between him and Mark. Absolutely nobody. Mark had been his since they had been about five or six (ages really weren't his strong suit). They had both been outcasts even back then and they had latched on to each other. Mark had been a lot meaner in those days and James's insanity had been a lot more out of control in those days. The two of them had hit it off like peas in a pod, and they got into all kinds of trouble together. At school they lived in the principal's office. At home…well James had tried to stay at Mark's as often as possible back then. His parents had been abusive on their good days and downright indescribably horrible on their worst. His brother Jacob had made Glenn look like a fucking rocket scientist and while he had actually loved his twin sister Annabelle, she had driven him absolutely insane more often than not and Mark had been the anchor that kept him grounded. Well, mostly grounded anyway. Insanity was James's nature.

The whole killing people thing was too. And Mark had been along for the ride more often than not. Hell, Mark had done more than his share of it back in the day. But the difference between the two of them was that Mark could stop doing. In fact, until Dave, he had stopped, or at least he had to the best of James's knowledge. James, on the other hand, didn't want to and couldn't stop the bloodlust that lived inside of him. He wasn't the type to give a shit about humanity. With the exception of Mark, Mark's son/his nephew/his adopted son Cooper, his incestuous love child Connor and occasionally Glenn, he wanted just to send everyone else to hell.

James grinned as Jeff managed to win his match. Little baby Hardy was good. And pretty. Very fucking pretty. He was probably one of the prettiest bitches he had ever seen. And a plus was that he would be easy to dominate. Despite the fact that James loved sex with Mark, the fact that neither of them were submissive made for very violent struggles in the bedroom. It had been that way the first time when they had been teenagers and every single time since then. And with both of them not getting any younger, violent sex was not always invigorating; sometimes it was just plain tiring.

When the show was finally over, James got the fuck out of that arena as fast as he possibly could. It wasn't easy because there were people everywhere, and finally he started resorting to not so nicely shoving people out of the way. He got a few glares but nothing beyond that because he glared back in return. Very few people messed with him when he looked right in their eyes, and the ones who did usually never got a chance to tell the tale to anyone else.

Once he was out of the arena, it took him about ten minutes to get to Mark's hotel. He practically ran to the damn room and pounded on it as hard as he could. He didn't know if Mark was there yet or not, but he didn't care. He would break open the damn door and just wait in there for his Undertaker if he had to.

Mark opened it about ten seconds later. James was in there in an instant, pulling Mark into a heated kiss as he kicked the door shut behind him. "Hey Marky," he said huskily as they pulled apart. "Miss me?"

Mark just stared at him. "What the hell are you doing here James? I was under the assumption you were still pissed at me."

"Oh believe me, I was pissed off for quite awhile," James assured him. "But damn it Mark, we've been together for way too fucking long to be without each other. I've been missing you like crazy and while you can deny it all you want, you've missed me too."

There was a moment of silence before Mark sighed. "Okay fine, you fucking jackass. I have fucking missed you. Just don't tell Glenn or he'll never shut the fuck up."

"Oh don't worry. I hate telling Glenn shit like that anyway. He gets way too damn annoying." James sat down on the nearest bed. "Anyway Marky, as much as you've missed me, I know you feel like there's still a problem. And that problem is the lovely Jeff Hardy."

Mark looked at him carefully. "If the words "I'm going to kill Jeff" come out of your mouth, or if they are even IMPLIED, I will fucking make sure you never walk ever again."

James laughed. Mark was always violently protective of the ones he cared about. Well, at least the ones that couldn't take care of themselves anyway. "Don't worry Marky, I don't want to kill Jeffey. My brilliant plan won't work if he's dead."

"Brilliant plan? You have a brilliant plan? Oh fuck no."

"Oh fuck yes. You see, you love both me and Jeff and we both love you. And I bet you a million fucking dollars I can charm the pants off him if you give me the chance. So, since I'm not willing to let you go and you still want him--"

Mark's eyes widened. "Do not tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

"I want the three of us to be together."

There was a very long period of silence before Mark spoke again. "Um…okay," he said slowly. "You think this will actually solve the problems rather than creating more of them?"

James rolled his eyes. "Oh Marky, don't start over thinking things. You're never as fun when you do it. I want you still and if that means I have to share you, then I'll share you."

"You'll share me? You can't even share a candy bar!"

"I can too…sometimes. Ugh, that's not the point! The point is, this could fucking work if you just give it a damn chance. Just let me hang around and let's let fate decide what happens."

Mark began pacing back and forth, no doubt weighing the pros and cons of the whole thing. He was always going to be the level headed one of the two, even with the thought of them double teaming Jeff undoubtedly running through his mind. "James, I want you to know right now that you are the most fucked up person I have ever met in my whole life."

James nodded. "Yeah, I knew that already. Tell me something I don't know."

Mark stopped pacing and bent down so his face was right in front of James's. "But since I do love both you and Jeff, I will see if we can make this work. But you have to be patient with this. Jeff's having a hard time since the Dave thing and this can't be rushed. You also have to keep the whole killing people thing on the down low. I'm not losing my damn career just because you want to go psychotic."

"Okey dokey then. Anything else?"

"Yeah, just two more things. You are to act like a fucking human being to the best of your damn abilities. Act like you remotely have a soul."

I gave him a hurt look. "Hey! I have a soul! Sure it's twisted and black, but it's there!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, the last thing is very fucking important, so you better listen closely: if Jeff does not want to go with your little idea, then we do not do it. Jeff is deciding the fate of this relationship, and you will learn to live with that. Do you understand me?"

"Oh I understand you perfectly my dear," James said. "You've made yourself crystal fucking clear." He kissed Mark and chuckled. Things were about to get very, _very_ interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Matt woke up the next morning to Adam kissing and sucking on his neck. He grinned, not even caring about how he could potentially be made fun of later because of a possible hickey. He always maintained that the others were just jealous whenever they made fun of him for having one. "I love it when you wake me up like that," he said as he ran his hands through Adam's hair.

Adam stopped and grinned at him. "I know you do. And I figured we had to get our lovin in now because I got a text from Cody a little while ago, and apparently, we are all going to an amusement park today."

"Well then, I guess we better have our fun now before the scary people knock on the door and tell us to hurry up," Matt said with a smirk. He climbed on top of Adam, very thankful that they were already naked. Clothes were just plain pesky and evil. "You know how they cause the dreaded blue balls when they're in a hurry."

"And we don't want that," Adam said as he kissed Matt hungrily.

"Definitely not," Matt agreed. He ran his hands up and down Adam's body, still completely amazed by how well they fit together. They were perfect for each other, and he didn't know how he hadn't realized that sooner than he did. If he had, it would have saved everyone a lot of pain and suffering. _No, don't start going there right now. I can't start thinking about what I should have done. It's not going to change anything that happened and besides, everything worked out okay in the end. Dave's gone and Adam and Jeff are trying to move on…well Adam definitely is. Who knows with Jeff anymore._

"Matt," Adam panted breathlessly as they broke the kiss so the brunette could reach for the lube they kept in the bag by their bed. "Need you so bad…damn it, would you please hurry?"

Matt grinned as he popped the lid of the lube. "Patience Addy. Good things happen to those who wait."

"No, good things happen to those who's boyfriends fuck them silly," Adam replied. He grabbed Matt's wrist and guided his hand down to between his legs. "Waiting is very overrated."

Well who was Matt to argue with that logic? He prepped Adam a bit faster than usual, knowing very well that they could get interrupted at a moment's notice. Cody was actually scarier than Jeff when it came to amusement parks. Whenever they went to one, they had a very hard time keeping him under control. It was like crack to him or something.

"Oh fuck," Adam moaned as Matt entered him. He wrapped his legs around Matt's waist and his arms around Matt's neck, kissing him roughly. "Matt…oh fuck…feel so good."

Matt smirked and nipped at Adam's lower lip. Their mouths were going to be bruised later, but he didn't give a shit at the moment. "You feel pretty amazing yourself babe," he said hurriedly, knowing full well that it was going to be the last full coherent sentence he was going to be able to get out for awhile. He knew that Adam's self esteem was still low even with Dave out of the picture now, so he tried to build it back up whenever he could.

Adam tried to say something, but it was lost in a moan and he didn't even try to repeat himself. He just pulled Matt even closer to him and bit Matt's shoulder, drawing blood. That just turned on Matt even more and he began pounding into Adam, knowing that the blonde trusted him not to really hurt him when they got a little rough. "Oh fuck…oh Adam," Matt groaned, not giving a shit if the entire hotel heard them.

"Matt…fuck me…oh Jesus…"

They both came at the same time, and Matt could feel Adam's nails scratching his back. _Note to self: wear a shirt the next time I wrestle_, Matt told himself as he collapsed on top of Adam. "Love you babe," he said as he planted a gentle kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

"Love you too," Adam said. He went quiet for a couple of minutes before speaking again. "You want to know what else I love?"

"What?"

"Pancakes. Let's go get some; I'm fucking starving."

XXXXXXXXXXX

As Matt and Adam were having their fun, Jeff was getting up from a night of no sleep. Every time he had closed his eyes, he had dreamt that he was Dave's captive again, and no matter how much he begged the Animal to stop, the bastard kept hurting him over and over again. _Fuck, I can't keep going like this. If I don't get some sleep soon, I'm going to go fucking insane._

Pulling his hood over his head, Jeff left his hotel room and just walked around. He thought about going to Matt and Adam's room, but he decided against it. Those two liked to have morning sex, and he didn't want a reminder about how he didn't have anyone to love him and make him feel good. He had felt disgusting ever since Dave had raped him, and he didn't know how to make that feeling go away.

Eventually Jeff found himself standing outside of Mark's room. He hadn't intentionally set out to go there, but suddenly he realized that was where he wanted to be. _Yeah, but does he even want you?_ a voice in his head asked as he went to knock on the door. _Just because it looked like he was going to kiss you yesterday doesn't mean he likes you. He probably just thinks you're cheap fuck._

_No,_ he stubbornly told the voice. _It's Mark. He doesn't think like that._

_Oh yeah? How do you know? You never thought Dave was an abusive asshole and you DEFINITELY never thought he would ever rape you. Now look how that turned out._

Just as Jeff was losing his courage completely, somebody opened the door. But that somebody was not Mark. In fact, it was someone Jeff hadn't been expecting at all.

"Hey Hardy," James said with a grin. He was wearing nothing but a pair of low riding leather pants and he had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His black hair was sticking up in all directions, making him look a little less dangerous and a little more boyish. "What are you doing here?"

Jeff gulped. _He's standing here half naked in Mark's room! What the hell is doing he doing here? Could he and Mark…no, don't go there. Don't think like that. Think of something else. Damn, he's got big muscles…oh God, just kill me now._ "Is Mark here?" he asked.

James nodded and opened the door as wide as it could go. "He's in the shower. You can wait for him in here."

Jeff went in, not sure if it was a good idea or not. Matt and Adam hadn't gotten a good vibe from James the first time they had met him, and to be honest, Jeff hadn't gotten a very good one either. But something was different this time. Maybe it was because they were out of that creepy house he lived in or maybe it was because he was just in a better mood this time, but either way, James didn't seem nearly as menacing as he had before

"So what's with the hoodie?" James asked as he plopped down on the nearest bed. He didn't seem at all concerned with the cigarette ashes that were falling on the bed. "It's going to be over ninety degrees outside today. You're going to be dying in that thing."

Jeff shrugged. "I'll be fine." That was a total lie though. Now that James had mentioned it, he was starting to sweat like a mother fucker.

James shook his head. "Come on kid. If people see you in that thing, they're going to think something's wrong with you. And I'm guessing that's the last thing you want."

"How would you know? You don't know me."

"I know you better than you think. Mark rarely shuts the fuck up about you."

Jeff's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

James nodded. "Yeah. Marky adores the shit out of you. Now get that damn hoodie off before he sees you in it. He'll scold you like a fucking child about getting heat stroke or some shit like that."

Almost grinning but not being able to quite manage it yet, Jeff took the hoodie off and put it on his lap. He could hear the shower going and he wondered how much longer Mark was going to take.

James looked around on his side of the bed before looking over and seeing something by Jeff's leg. "There's the bastard thing," he said under his breath. "I wondered where I put that." He reached across Jeff's lap to grab the TV remote.

Jeff watched James carefully, suddenly very aware of how close they were. He could smell the older man's cologne (and it actually smelled really fucking good) and now that he wasn't terrified out of his mind like he had been when James had rescued him, something about the dark haired man that felt very familiar.

The shower could be heard turning off, and the next thing Jeff knew, Mark was yelling at the top of his lungs. "DAMN IT LAWSON! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE TOWELS?"

James giggled maniacally. "I'LL NEVER TELL!" he yelled back at Mark.

A moment later, Mark came storming out of the bathroom, just as naked and wet as he could be. "You fucking bastard," Mark growled. "I need a towel damn it! I can't get dressed when I'm all wet."

James just gave him a devious look. "Well just shake around like a giant dog or something. That'll get you dry."

Jeff, who had been staring at Mark's naked form in complete fascination, suddenly got the mental picture of Mark doing just that and it made him want to laugh. But Mark looked like he was going to throttle James, and since Jeff himself was the person in between those two, he tried to hold back that urge.

Mark sighed and gently moved Jeff out of the way. "Lawson, I swear to God if you do not stop your shit…"

James rolled his eyes. "You'll strangle me, hit me, kick me, spank me till I touch myself--I've heard it all before Marky." He reached under the bed and handed Mark a towel. "Now hurry up and get ready. I told a nice boy named Cody you were treating us to a trip to an amusement park."

Jeff saw the way Mark's eye twitched and looked at James in shock. The guy had to have balls the size of grapefruits to do that. "Oh God, do you have a death wish or something?" he couldn't help but ask.

James grinned. "Maybe baby. Hey, that rhymed! I so fucking rule." He grabbed Jeff's hand and kissed it for no reason before turning his attention back to the TV.

Mark groaned and put his hand over his eyes. "Jeff, I'm going to go ahead and apologize for his insanity. This is what happens when I let him have candy for breakfast."

Jeff just shrugged, too busy looking back and forth between James and Mark. There was a chemistry between the two of them that could just be felt, even by an outsider. He suddenly realized that was what had made James feel so familiar: it was Mark. He had somehow sensed James's connection with Mark. And despite what Adam and Matt had sensed during that night when he had been taken by Dave, Mark obviously trusted James, so that put Jeff more at ease around the other man.

Mark and James both gave Jeff amused looks. "What are you staring at Rainbow?" James asked.

Jeff didn't want to verbalize everything that was going on in his mind, so he went with the first thing that popped into his mind. "Mark, have you really spanked him until he touched himself?"

Mark just stared at him for a minute before grabbing some clothes and going into the bathroom.

James chuckled. "That's a yes, in case you didn't know." He patted Jeff on the thigh. "Now come on Jeffey boy. We've got an amusement park to go to and a Mark to drive insane."

"I don't want to drive Mark insane. He's scary when he's cranky."

"He's only like that because he doesn't want to admit that it turns him on."

"Oh. Okay then. I guess I can give it a try."

"That's a good boy. Or maybe that makes you a bad one. Ah, who cares? I'm done thinking. Let's go get some Skittles because I'm fucking starving again."


	5. Chapter 5

Mark had never appreciated it before whenever James had put him in a position to spend a lot of money against his will, but this amusement part thing had really taken the cake. The park cost fifty bucks per person to get in, and besides himself, James and Jeff, Adam, Matt, Legacy, Morrison, Glenn, Phil, Evan, Jay, John and Shawn all ended up going too. "You all better appreciate this," he growled as they went past the ticket booth and entered the park. "This cost me more than a lot of you fuckers are worth."

Phil frowned. "What's wrong with you Mark? James told me that this whole thing was your idea."

James grinned. "Oh yeah, here's the thing though: I might have fibbed a little."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "Phil, how could you possibly believe that Mark would want to pay for ALL of us to get into an amusement park? Mark is a fucking cheap prick."

"Well why did you do this then?" Ted asked Mark. "I mean, you could have made James help you pay a little."

Mark shook his head. "Teddy, if I had made James's stupid ass pay for the tickets, he would now be whining about how he didn't have money for lunch, dinner or games and I would end up paying for all of that shit. Now, since I spent the money on the tickets, I'm making him pay for my meals for the next week."

James snorted. "You wish asshole. I'll buy your food tonight and maybe lunch tomorrow, but that's it. I am not the mother fucking gravy train."

Mark glared at him. "You're not the fucking gravy train? I just spent 750 dollars to get all of us in this fucking park and you are not going to take over duties of the gravy train? You fucking son of a bitch--I ought to fucking smack you."

Jeff looked back and forth between James and Mark with wide eyes. "So…would this be a bad time to ask who's going to fork over some money so I can play some games and try to win some prizes?"

Matt smacked him on the arm. "Jeff!"

"What?" Jeff said innocently. "I thought you would appreciate knowing whether you had to pay for my fun or not."

Mark chuckled and shook his head. "It's alright Jeff. James and I have you covered." He glared at everyone else. "But the rest of you sorry sons of a bitches are on your own."

Cody snorted. He was desperately trying to get away from Randy, who had a tight grip on the back of his shirt. "I wish I was on my own. You people are so slow! I can't have all of my fun with you idiots holding me back!"

Randy sighed and shook his head. "Calm down Code Man. We're going to the first ride right now."

Mark finally decided to pay attention to where they were walking and saw that they were standing by a giant Farris Wheel. And "giant" wasn't just an exaggeration: it had to be one of the biggest ones he had ever seen in his life. "Oh God no," he groaned. This was the last thing he wanted to go on.

Morrison frowned. "What's wrong Deadman? Are you afraid of heights or something?"

James looked at Mark and grinned. "What's the matter Marky? You're still not traumatized from that carnival we went to ten years ago, are you?"

Actually, Mark was still completely traumatized from that incident. Ten years ago, he and James had gone to a carnival and had gotten on the Ferris Wheel. James had gotten completely out of control because he had been off his meds, and to make a long story short, they both nearly died when he had nearly tipped their seat over. It was one of the few times in Mark's life that he had been legitimately scared for his life, and being scared was not something he ever handled well.

"Oh come on Marky, I'll behave this time," James whispered. "I'm not dumb enough to make that mistake again."

"You better not be," Mark muttered darkly as he followed the others to the ride. "Or I'll skin you alive."

The Ferris Wheel had a limit of five people per seat, so everyone divided up into three groups. Legacy, Shawn and John got on first, and then Morrison, Phil, Glenn, Evan and Jay got on next, leaving Mark to sit with Jeff, Adam, Matt and James. _This is going to be interesting_, Mark thought to himself when he noticed the look Matt was giving James. Apparently James was standing way too close to Jeff for the older Hardy's taste.

"Wow, I've never been on one this big before," Adam said as the ride took them up in the air. "Ooohh! There's a roller coaster over there! I want to go on the roller coaster next!"

"It's on the other side of the park Coepland," Mark pointed out. "Cody will kill us if we skip all the rides in between just to go on that."

Adam snorted. "Who cares about Cody? I'll just make Ted or someone shove him off this ride so we won't have to deal with him anymore."

Mark rolled his eyes. It was hard to believe how the majority of the people he hung out with could not maturely resolve anything. _Then again, I've spent the majority of my life with someone who kills people he doesn't like, so who am I to judge?_

Matt continued to study James carefully. It was like he was trying to get inside the mind of the older man by just looking at him. "So why exactly are you here?" he asked in his most casual voice. "I mean, Mark never said anything about you coming to visit."

James grinned. "That's because I surprised him. I didn't have anything going on for awhile, so I figured I'd come and hang out for awhile."

"So you're on vacation from work then?"

"You can say that."

Mark almost smirked. He wasn't sure if James was talking about the killing people thing or the porn distribution job he had inherited from Daddy Dearest, but either way, he was sure Matt would be beyond shocked if he found out about either one of those things.

Jeff was staring at James's neck like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. "What's that big scar on your neck from?" he asked.

James frowned. "Scar?"

"Yeah, this one." Jeff ran his finger along it. "It looks like it hurt."

Mark knew exactly which one Jeff was talking about and he knew that this was the wrong subject to be approaching. Caroline (James's bitch of a mother) had taken the sharp end of a wire hanger to her boy when he had just been three years old. Mark had always wanted to know the reason why she had done that, but when James had finally told him, he had almost wished he hadn't asked. There had been no reason at all for the violent act; she had just done it because she could.

"I don't want to talk about it," James said. His tone left no room for further questioning on the subject.

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence before Mark decided to break it. "So uh…who wants cotton candy?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Despite the uncomfortable moment on the Ferris Wheel and Matt watching James like a hawk, Adam found himself having more fun than he had in ages. He made Matt go on every single ride with him, although he didn't make two or three trips like Jeff, Cody and James were managing to do. He wasn't a chipmunk on crack, so he couldn't quite manage to be that energetic. But he did manage to get a good laugh out of Morrison getting sick after going on a balloon ride that went around and around in circles.

"This is not funny!" Morrison moaned pulled his head out of the trash can he had been throwing up in. "You are mean for even laughing at me right now!"

Adam wiped away his tears and tried to regain his composure. "I'm sorry dude, but you are so stupid! We told you not to go on that ride because of your weak stomach."

Phil rolled his eyes and put his arm around Morrison. "It's okay Mor. Don't listen to him. Let's just get you a Pepsi and make you feel better."

Matt patted Adam on the back. "You know, that was kind of mean laughing at him like that," he pointed out.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Oh, like you've never laughed at Jeff for something like that before?"

"Okay, I have, but that's not the point!"

"Honey, I love you, but don't act like you can tease Jeff while I can't tease Morrison. Morrison is a much easier target than Jeff is."

"Hey Matt, look at the water under that bridge!" Jeff yelled excitedly. "James said there are fishies in there and we can feed them food for a quarter! Give me a quarter!"

Adam noticed that people were starting to stare at them so he decided to try to reel Jeff in. "Jeff, you have to quiet down. People don't want to hear you yell."

"I don't care what they want!" Jeff snapped. "I want to feed the fishies!"

Matt sighed and handed Jeff a couple of quarters. "There, go feed the damn fishies! Just stop yelling at me!"

Jeff cheered before grabbing Cody by the hand and running after James in an attempt to feed the fishies. Adam saw the way Matt stiffened as Jeff climbed up on the railing of the bridge and James put one hand on the leg of his pants to make sure stayed steady. "What is it with you and James?" he asked. "I mean, he gave me a bad feeling when we first met him the night Dave died, but he hasn't been giving me that vibe quite as badly. So what gives?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm in overprotective mode. I mean, I…" his voice trailed off and his eyes widened as he saw something. Adam frowned and looked to where Matt was looking. He instantly felt the blood drain right out of his face. There was a man walking near Jeff and Cody and he looked like someone that he and Jeff did not need to be seeing at the moment. Now he knew there was no way it could be who it looked like, but it still gave him the chills. "Oh crap," he muttered. "Jeff, don't turn around, don't turn around…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Jeff dropped the rest of the fish food down to the water and watched as the hundreds of catfish swarm around to eat it. "James, I want another quarter," he whined.

"Okay, I'll get you one in a minute," James said slowly. He sounded on edge about something. "Just stay put and don't turn around."

Jeff frowned. Now that was just a weird message. Why couldn't he turn around? Deciding to see what the fuss was about, he immediately turned around and was stunned by the sight of a passing man. The guy was a dead ringer for Dave. He was slightly shorter and less muscular, but his face had enough similarities to Batista's that Jeff found himself flashing back to just a couple of weeks ago.

_"Dave stop please! Leave me alone! No no no no!"_

_Dave only laughed and plunged back into Jeff, causing the younger man to scream in agony as his insides were being ripped apart…_

Jeff didn't realize he was going backwards off the bridge until Mark yelled his name and a strong hand grabbed his ankle right before he was just out of reach. He blinked in shock, completely disoriented from both the flashback and his near encounter with the pond.

"Jesus Christ!" James said as he pulled Jeff back up over the bridge all by himself. He was even stronger than Jeff thought he had looked. "When I said don't turn around, I meant don't turn the fuck around.

"Yeah, let's scold him right now," Cody said sarcastically. "That's the right thing to do."

"Jeff!" Matt yelled as he and Adam ran to him. "Jeff are you okay?"

"Kid talk to us," Mark said. He looked extremely worried.

Jeff just stared at them for a minute before shaking his head. "I'm fine," he tired to insist, but he knew they would see through it in an instant. "I just…I can't breathe." He tried to stay on his feet, but the next thing he knew, his legs were giving out on him and he was falling into James's arms just as he passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

All the fun and games of the amusement park pretty much ended after Jeff fainted. Once Jeff had been revived, Matt absolutely insisted on carrying him out of the park and back to the car. Mark had tried to volunteer his services for that carrying plan, but Matt wouldn't even listen to it. James knew he could very well snatch Jeff away from the older Hardy with absolutely no problem, but he resisted that urge. Matt already didn't seem to trust him for some reason, and creating more problems with him would just be a pain in his ass later on. So while keeping a close on Jeff (who looked positively freaked out at the moment), he hung back just enough to walk with the others.

"Dude, this is crazy," Cody said in a hushed voice. "What if that was a reincarnated version of Dave? Or what if he isn't really dead and he got plastic surgery to just make himself look not quite himself?"

Randy frowned. "I think your imagination is getting away from you again Code Man. And unfortunately for you, it's not cute at the moment."

"You think he's cute though," Ted said quietly.

"What was that?" Randy asked.

"Nothing," Ted said way too innocently.

James shook his head. "That dude was not Dave in any way, shape or form. I was there when he died and I used his ashes to help fertilize my damn lawn. Believe me, that fucker is dead and he isn't coming back.

"But--"

"Cody, if you do not shut up, I am coming back there to kick your ass," Matt growled. "I'm not even joking right now."

James smirked at the defeated look on Cody's face. He looked over at John and Shawn, who hadn't said much to him this entire time. "So….what's up with you two?" he asked. He tried to sound as friendly as possible, which was actually a lot harder than he thought it would be. It just wasn't in his nature to be friendly unless he was getting something out of it.

John shrugged. "Not much. We're just worrying about Jeff like everyone else is."

"But I'm fine!" Jeff whined. He started trying to get out of Matt's grasp. "Matt put me down! I want the people to stop staring at me."

"Jeff, we're almost to the cars," Matt pointed out.

"I don't care! Just put me down!"

"Just put your fucking brother down Hardy," James snapped. "I think at nearly thirty two years old, he knows when he does and does not want carried like a baby."

Matt glared at him as he set Jeff back on his feet. "Did anybody ask you for your two cents?"

James raised his eyebrows. Was this asshole trying to start something with him? "What? Am I not allowed to speak up for what Jeff wants?"

"Children," Mark said, stepping directly in between Matt and James. "I don't want to have this bullshit right now."

"I'm not trying to start any shit," James replied.

"For once," Glenn said with a snort.

"Can we please just go back to the hotel?" Jeff asked. "I just want to go there and make it through the night before we all go back home tomorrow."

That request silenced any more arguments as they all got in their vehicles and headed back to the hotel. James wasn't sure if anyone but him recognized any significance in Jeff's wording in that request. _The boy just wants to MAKE it through the night. The boy didn't say he wanted to get some sleep because he's not sleeping very well. I wonder if dear Matty realizes how bad his brother really is._

Mark, who was driving the car James was in, looked over at him. "What's going on in that head of yours Lawson?"

James didn't look away from the window when he responded. "Jeff's not sleeping."

"How do you know?"

"He said he had to _make_ it through the night. I saw the look in his eyes as he said it. That little incident at the park has just fucked him up even more."

Glenn, who was in the backseat, leaned forward to join in on the conversation. "Since when have you cared so much about Jeff?" he asked James.

James and Mark exchanged looks. It was probably safe to tell Glenn what they wanted. "We want Jeff to be with the both of us," Mark said.

Glenn's eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard your brother," James said with a roll of his eyes. "There's no need to yell."

"But…but…how is that going to work?"

Mark frowned. "Glenn, are you that fucking defective? Do I need to explain to you the mechanics of a relationship?"

Glenn glared at his older brother. "I meant are you guys going to take turns with him? You'll kill him if you go double anal."

James smirked. "Nobody dies going double anal. Now someone could die if two dicks were shoved all the way down their throat and then their nose was pinched shut so they couldn't breathe. They definitely can choke to death that way."

Now it was Mark and Glenn's turn to look at each other. "And just how exactly would you know that James?" Mark asked.

Oh crap, maybe he shouldn't have said that. That wasn't a story he wanted to tell Mark. Mark had a few jealousy issues of his own and even though that whole incident had taken place during their six month break, it would still lead to an ass kicking later on. "I watched a snuff film where they did that," James lied.

Mark glared at him before turning his attention back on the road. "Yeah right. You're such a liar."

"Yeah but you don't want to hear the truth," James pointed out. "You would get jealous."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

Glenn groaned. "Oh this is fun. I knew I should have gotten into another car."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Matt I'm fine!" Jeff said for the millionth time. It was about three hours later and he was in Matt and Adam's hotel room. He had wanted to go to his own, but Matt wouldn't let him. His over protective big brother nature was convinced that if Jeff was by his side constantly, it would magically make everything okay. Now as much as Jeff wished that would actually be true, he knew that wasn't going to be the case.

Matt held up his hands defensively. "I was only going to offer you some water. You don't need to take my damn head off."

Jeff sighed. He knew Matt was only trying to help and that was what sucked. He just didn't have the guts to tell his brother that nobody could help him. He was a lost cause at this point. "I want a Mountain Dew."

Adam, who was taking a drink of his own Mountain Dew at that moment, stopped and scooted back. "Mine," he said childishly. "Get your own."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "I didn't say I wanted yours silly."

"Well I guess I can go to the vending machine and--" Matt's sentence was interrupted by a knock on the door. He frowned and looked at it. "Who the hell could that be?"

Adam shrugged and climbed off the bed. "I don't know, let's find out." He walked over to the door and opened it. It turned out to be the rest of the gang, and they were armed with popcorn, movies, pop and alcohol. "What are you guys doing here?" Adam asked as they came in.

"Well we wanted to go out and party tonight," Morrison said. "But we figured that Matt would just bitch if we tried to take Jeff along so we decided to have our own party here." He handed Jeff some Grey Goose vodka. "What do you say buddy? You want to party with us tonight?"

Matt sighed and shook his head. "Guys, I don't think--"

"Yes," Jeff said before Matt could finish speaking. He took the bottle of vodka and unscrewed the lid. The way he figured it, the others would distract Matt enough so he wouldn't constantly be badgered by his big brother and their parties tended to last all night, which meant he wouldn't have to sleep. And if he didn't sleep, he wouldn't have nightmares about Dave. He won no matter which way he looked at it.

That answer obviously surprised Matt, but he didn't object anymore. Phil put in _Zack and Miri Make a Porno_ so he could watch that while drinking his Pepsi instead of watching everyone else doing their best to get drunk out of their minds. "I don't know how you can do that straight edge stuff," Evan said with a shake of his head. "That would be really hard for me."

Phil just shrugged. "It's all about choices little buddy. I choose to live a clean lifestyle. You guys are choosing to possibly die of alcohol poisoning before morning."

Jeff shrugged. At this point, he wasn't sure if he would mind dying of alcohol poisoning. "You're right Punky. It's all about choices. And I love my vodka more than your stupid Pepsi."

Phil glared at him. "You better watch your mouth Hardy. I'll flush those damn Skittles down the toilet if you dare to insult my Pepsi again."

"Hey now, don't threaten the Skittles," James said. "The Skittles never did anything to you, and if you threaten them, I will kick your ass so hard you won't know what hit you."

With that matter settled, more drinking ensued and everyone but Phil got pretty tipsy. Now as Adam had pointed out numerous times, wrestlers were like kids in adult bodies, especially when they were drunk. So it wasn't long before they decided they wanted to play a game. "Let's play Spin the Bottle!" Randy suggested.

Mark frowned. "Why in the hell would we want to play that?"

"Oh come on Taker, it'll be fun," Adam said. He was sitting on Matt's lap and he was being all lovey dovey with him.

"Yeah," Cody agreed. "Spin the Bottle totally rocks. It rocks out with its cock out."

Now Jeff wasn't sure just how exactly a game had a cock, but he was just drunk enough not to question Cody's statement. He just got down on the floor with the others (even Punk was going to play) and put one of the empty vodka bottles on the floor. "Who's going first?" he asked.

"I'll do it," Morrison volunteered. He leaned forward and spun the bottle as hard as he could. It landed on Punk who just cocked his eyebrows. "Please tell me your breath doesn't smell too much like booze."

Morrison rolled his eyes and grabbed Phil by the shirt. "Oh quit whining. You'll live."

Jeff catcalled and whistled with the others as he watched the two of them make out. Maybe this wasn't going to be as dumb as Mark thought it would be.

Jay went next and it landed on Evan. Evan turned a deep shade of red, and Ted and Cody literally had to push him on to Jay's lap. But luckily, once Captain Charisma got to the kissing, baby Bourne definitely loosened up. Then Randy spun the bottle and it landed on Cody, and things almost pornographic when Cody took the liberty of trying to grope the Legend Killer.

"Well that was more than I needed to see," Mark grumbled after he forcibly separated the two thirds of Legacy. "I think you people are getting way too into this game."

"Oh come Mark, it's fun," James said. "You can't deny that."

Jeff grinned as Mark continued to grumble under his breath. He spun the bottle and waited, his mouth dropping in shock as it landed on the Deadman himself. "Oh boy," he whispered.

"Finally," Ted muttered.

Shawn smacked him on the back of his head. "OW!" he whined. "What did I do?"

Mark smirked and didn't waste any time in turning towards Jeff and capturing his lips in a kiss. Jeff was startled for about a second but he began kissing back eagerly. Mark was an even better kisser than he had ever imagined. He wrapped his arms around the Deadman's neck, wanting more and starting to care less and less about the fact that people were watching.

"Okay okay love birds, break it up," James said loudly. "It's my turn."

"This is definitely a first," Glenn said as James spun the bottle. "I don't think I've seen you play this game Lawson."

"Well I've never seen you play it either, so…" James's voice trailed off as the bottle pointed to the area between Mark and Jeff.

"That means you have to spin again dude," Adam said.

James shook his head. "Nope. It means I have to do something else."

Jeff didn't even get a chance to point out that Adam was right. He just had to watch as James grabbed Mark and pulled him into a very rough and violent kiss. Mark rolled his eyes and went with it, and only a complete idiot wouldn't be able to figure out that they've done that before. Jeff felt a pang of jealousy go through him until James suddenly broke the kiss with Mark and began kissing him instead.

"Dude! What the hell?" Matt said in disbelief.

Jeff's eyes widened but he didn't try to push James away. It wasn't just because he didn't think he could if he tried; no, there was something about the way James was completely dominating his mouth that he actually enjoyed very much. He heard Mark chuckle and he just squeaked helplessly.

"Okay, that's enough!" Matt said. He got up and started trying to pull James off of Jeff. "My brother needs to breathe dude."

James broke the kiss and just smirked at Jeff. Jeff turned a deep shade of red and looked at Mark, who was just watching the scene with a smirk of his own. He looked down at his lap, not sure what to think anymore. Everyone had always told him that Mark liked him, but did James like him too now? That kiss sure made it seem like that. Jesus, did _both_ of them want him? And why was that idea turning him on a little? _Oh God, I hope Matt doesn't find that out. He definitely doesn't trust James completely and he'll have a stroke if he senses what I'm thinking right now._


	7. Chapter 7

Adam was glad to have a few days home with Matt where he could give his body a chance to relax and not do a thing. All the wrestling and traveling had taken even more of a toll on his body than it used to when he had been younger. He knew a lot of his body not being able to take the beatings it used to as easily was because he was getting older. Years of wear and tear caught up with all wrestlers, and he knew he was not an exception to that rule. But he also felt that both the physical and emotional punishment Dave had put him through for so long was finally taking its true toll now. When he had actually been with Dave, he had been so focused on just trying to live through each day that he hadn't noticed just how badly he was getting beaten up. But now he could feel that those old beatings definitely worsened some pre-existing injuries and his emotional state wasn't helping anything. He still felt like if that he complained, he was going to get yelled at or beaten for being a pussy. He knew that he had no reason to feel that way, but he couldn't help himself. The damage Dave had done ran deep, and sometimes he wondered if he was ever truly going to be over it.

"You okay baby?" Matt asked.

Adam shrugged. He and Matt were laying in bed together watching TV. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Matt frowned. "Are you sure baby? You seem upset about something."

_He always knows_, Adam thought with a smile. _I can't ever lie to him about anything. God, I love him so much._ "I just…I feel really beat up right now," he confessed slowly. "I mean, I know us wrestlers spend the majority of our time beat up, but I just feel like that every beating Dave ever gave me is really starting to catch up with me. And I just feel so damn tired of feeling hurt all the time that I honestly don't know how much more I can take right now."

Matt looked at him sympathetically. "Oh baby, why haven't you said anything sooner?"

Adam bit his lip. He felt really ashamed about having to admit this part. "I guess I'm still in the mindset that if I complain, I'll get beat up more. Dave used to get really pissed when I complained and the beatings got worse when he thought I was complaining too much."

Matt ran his fingers up and down Adam's arm. "You don't need to feel that way honey," he said gently. "If you need to complain about the way your body is hurting you, then go ahead and complain. I'll be just fine with that."

"I _know_ I don't have to feel that way," Adam said. He wasn't trying to snap at Matt, but he felt like he had to get his point across. "I just _do_ feel that way sometimes. It's like my instinct to act scared and keep my mouth shut, no matter how bad something hurts."

"Maybe we should ask Vince to give us a little time off," Matt suggested. "I can tell him you came back too soon without dealing with the whole Dave thing and I'm sure he'll understand that. And I'm sure I can convince him to give me time off too to help you with that dealing process."

Adam looked into Matt's eyes hopefully. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would. You know I would do anything for you baby."

Adam smiled and kissed Matt gratefully. "Thank you baby. You have no idea what that means to me."

"Hey, you're worth it," Matt replied. He kissed Adam this time before his eyes caught the television. "Oooh, Jerry Springer is on!"

"Oh come on, not this show again," Adam groaned.

Matt frowned. "What's wrong with Jerry Springer? This show is awesome!"

"Yeah, maybe in the 1990s. Who the hell watches it now?"

XXXXXXX

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Kill that bitch! Kill each other you fat cows!"

Mark rubbed his temples as he glared at James. They were supposed to be enjoying a nice quiet lunch, but now that Jerry Springer was on, James was acting nuttier than usual. "Would you shut the fuck up Lawson? Your yelling is getting on my last nerve!"

James glared at him. "Hey, I don't get mad at you when you yell at your favorite football teams when they mess up a play, so I would appreciate it if you would let me scream at these cunts on this show in peace."

"First of all, there is nothing peaceful about your yelling. Second of all, I don't want to watch this, so turn the damn channel."

"But it's my favorite show!" James whined. "I'll cry if you make me turn it!"

Mark rolled his eyes. "You don't cry, remember? You don't have enough feelings to cry."

James glared at him again before taking the remote and putting it in his pants. "Ha! I win!"

Mark raised his eyebrows. "If you don't think that I won't reach down there to get it, you're in for a rude awakening."

"Oh go take Glenn and kill something! You just need to leave me alone for the rest of the hour."

"Glenn don't kill people. He's the sane one in this little fucking family." Mark took his fork and pointed it at James. "Now can you at least quit screaming like a fucking banshee? I may actually start to like this show if you shut the fuck up."

"You don't like anything," James pouted. "You're too much of a grumpy pants."

"I'm wearing shorts smart one, so how does that work?"

"You know what I meant asshole! God, one would think making out with Jeff would have pulled the stick out of your ass, but I guess that's not the case, is it?"

Mark's phone rang at that moment, interrupting the Deadman's reply to that. He grabbed it off the tray his food was on and looked to see who it was. "It's Jeff," he announced.

That turned James's attention back away from Jerry Springer. "Oooh, put it on speaker!" he demanded. "I want to talk to him too!"

"Well what makes you think that he wants to talk to you?" Mark asked.

"Just do it cocksucker!"

"Okay, okay!" Mark said as he did just that. "You don't need to scream at me."

"Who's screaming at you Mark?" Jeff asked. He sounded all tired and confused, which made him sound just that much more adorable.

"James," Mark replied. "Jerry Springer has him all riled up."

"Oh. Matt likes that show too."

James raised his hands up in the air triumphantly. "See? You see Mark? Someone else out there loves this show like I do! Train wrecks and rednecks rule!"

Mark sighed. He was almost starting to think that he needed to let James run off and kill someone just so the psycho could get rid of his pent up energy. "So how have you been Jeff?" he asked, changing the subject completely. "Why isn't Matt over there treating you like a helpless child?"

"I think Adam's distracting him with his own problems," Jeff answered. "And I don't want him over here anyway. He's doing that thing where I feel like he's trying way too hard to help me and it's just making me feel worse because I want to be okay for him and I can't."

"And why can't you be okay Jeff?" James asked with his mouth full of chicken.

Mark gave James a disgusted look. "Chew your damn food before speaking!" He turned his attention back to the phone. "Okay, answer the question Jeff."

Jeff sighed. "I just…I feel dirty. Because of…you know…"

"Dave," Mark and James said at the same time. They exchanged looks and shook their heads. They both had been expecting Jeff to feel that way. Hell, they would have been more shocked if he hadn't.

"I don't want to feel this way, but I can't make it stop," Jeff whined. He sounded like he was close to tears. "And I keep having these nightmares over and over again and they're driving me nuts! I can't take this shit no more! I really can't!"

"Come on Rainbow, calm down," James said. He wasn't much good around people who cried, so Mark knew he was looking to stop Jeff before the younger man could really get started. "You're not dirty or disgusting or any of that bullshit. You're a sexy little beast that Mark and I want to--"

"James!" Mark said in shock. Damn it to hell, what was the psycho doing. "Would you pump the brakes for two seconds?"

"You want to what?" Jeff asked. Now he sounded almost curious.

Mark sighed and smacked James on the back of the head. He had a feeling the psycho had been about to blurt out that they wanted to fuck Jeff, which would have been really bad wording at this point and time. They didn't want Jeff to feel like they wanted him because he was an easy target. Well, at least Mark didn't want Jeff to feel that way. There was no telling what was going on James's head anymore.

"Mark?" Jeff said tentatively. "You still there?"

"Yeah," Marks said. "Look Jeff, there's something we need to talk to you about, but we have to do it in person, okay?"

"Is it bad?"

"No, it's not bad. In fact, it could be really good for all of us if you're into it."

James sniggered. "Really fucking good." He looked back at the TV. "Hey! There's a tranny on this show! Go tranny!"

Mark sighed. James was really starting to get on his nerves. _We might not even get to try out the three way relationship. I might kill Lawson before then. Dumb bastard can't ever stop yelling for two damn seconds. It's so fucking annoying._


	8. Chapter 8

When everyone met up at the arena for the next show, it only took Glenn a couple of minutes to sense that Mark and James were up to something. He knew them too well not to think anything else. Even though he and Mark hadn't always been close (by the time he was born, their mom was finally accepting responsibility for her kids she had, but it was too late to reel Mark in. Glenn ended up spending a lot of his time playing with the normal kids in the neighborhood while Mark went wild with James), he still liked to think he knew his brother better than most people. And as for James, well, he never really tried getting into the mind of the killer and he didn't plan on doing that in the future. He never really understood why Mark put up with James. The guy was infuriating more than half the time. Then again, he was probably the wrong person to judge. He always kind of held a grudge against James for constantly teasing him and being the one who ACTUALLY started the fire at the funeral home that killed his and Mark's parents and nearly killed him in the process. _And for some reason, he STILL doesn't understand why I'm mad about that._

"Oh Glenn boy," James said as he waved his hands in front of the Big Red Machine's face. "What are you thinking about?"

"Strangling you and dumping your body in the desert," Glenn blurted out. The two of them and Mark were all alone in Mark's dressing room, so he could say whatever he felt like.

James giggled. "You won't do that. You don't have it in you Glenn boy. You've never had it in you."

"Keep testing me and find out for sure Lawson," Glenn threatened. He knew that it was an empty threat though. He never really got into the killing like Mark and James did. Sure he enjoyed hurting people a whole lot, but actually killing them? He didn't do it for pleasure like James did and he didn't do it because he could like Mark once did. The one time he had done it, it had been out of necessity more than anything else and that had been the end of that.

"Boys, behave," Mark ordered. "If I have to separate you two, you will be sorry."

James pointed to Glenn. "He started it!"

Mark glared at James until he put his arm down. "Don't be giving me that shit today Lawson. Jeff's going to meet us in here in a little bit and as long as you don't start acting like a fucking retard, we might just get what we want out of this whole deal."

Glenn raised his eyebrows. "So you're definitely going to try to go through with this three way relationship deal?"

Both Mark and James nodded. "Judging from the whole spin the bottle deal, we think he might be into it," Mark said.

"Well that's great," Glenn said. "I'm happy for you guys. But uh, there's one little thing I think you need to think of first."

"And what's that Flame Broiled?" James asked.

"Let's see…how about the fact that you've both killed your fair share of people?" Glenn knew that they had either not thought of telling Jeff that, or they were hoping the avoid the subject all together. "I mean, you can't just not tell him. He needs to know about this."

"Why?" James sounded genuinely interested.

"Because it'll be worse if you don't tell him and then he finds out some other way." Glenn could not believe how dense James was being. "Jesus Lawson, this isn't something most people blow off. They actually have compassion for human life and they don't approve of innocents getting killed."

James frowned and looked at Mark. "What's your brother babbling about now?"

Mark sighed and shook his head. "Look, Glenn, we will tell him. We're just going to…ease him into the situation a little bit. If we just flat out tell him everything, we'll scare him off. But maybe if he just spends enough time with James, he'll kind of piece everything together and get a little adjusted to the idea before we tell him."

James looked offended. "What the hell does THAT mean?"

"You know what it means," Mark told him.

Glenn rolled his eyes. This was going to turn into an argument and he did not feel like sticking around to listen to it today. Mark and James could get really annoying when they argued. "You boys are flirting with disaster," he told them as he headed to the door. "I hope you know that."

They didn't answer him; they just started bickering about what Mark meant by what he said. He left the locker room and was immediately hit by a running body. He grabbed the person just as they started to fall, rolling his eyes yet again when he saw that it was Ted. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Cody has my video game," Ted replied. "I was trying to catch him." He cocked his head to the side "You know, far away, your eyes look really weird and scary, but up close, they look really cool."

Glenn frowned. That had been the last thing he had been expecting to hear out of Ted's mouth. "Uh…thanks," he said as he set the third generation superstar back on his feet.

"Yeah," Ted said. He shifted around uncomfortably. "I should--"

"Kill Cody," Glenn finished for him. "Yeah, you might want to get on that." He nodded a little bit before bailing. _Thank God Mark and James didn't see that. They would have never shut up about it if they had._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff tied his shoelace with shaky hands. He was supposed to be meeting up with Mark and James real soon, which had him feeling kind of nervous and sick to his stomach. He didn't want to feel that way, but he couldn't help it. The possibilities of what they could possibly want to talk to him about were too many for him to take. Was it about the kisses during the spin the bottle game? That was the main thought he kept coming back to. He had been thinking about them almost nonstop (the only thing that interrupted them were the nightmares that Dave was going to hurt him again) and they made him all hot and bothered every time he replayed them in his head. It made him want the both of them, but he didn't dare voice that around Matt. That would have been a disaster.

Now he knew Matt wouldn't have a problem with him thinking about Mark like that. Mark, while dangerous when he needed to be, had been the group's protector for so long that even Matt accepted that. Mark kept them safe and Jeff knew Matt would trust Mark not to hurt him. James on the other hand, was a different story. He was danger personified. His whole aura gave that away, even when he was just standing there. It was also obvious he was not playing with all fifty two cards. His eyes always had an insane little gleam in them, even when he was charming the pants off everyone in front of him. Jeff was finding himself becoming absolutely fascinated by it, and if Matt found that out, Jeff would find himself being locked away somewhere and never being allowed to come out.

His locker room door opened and the next thing he knew, Adam and Matt came in. "We don't knock anymore?" he asked. He wasn't trying to sound pissy, but he at least expected them to fucking knock before barging in on him.

"Sorry," Adam said. "We just needed to tell you something."

"Okay," Jeff said. He could sense they might have done something he wasn't going to like.

"We're taking a few weeks off," Matt explained. He sat down on the bench next to Jeff. "Adam needs some time to rest his body and clear his head and I'm going to stay home with him."

"Well good for you two then," Jeff said. He actually liked the sound of this plan, mainly because with them gone, he could do stuff with Mark and James (if they even wanted to of course).

"And Vince also said that if you need time off--"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa," Jeff said quickly. He frowned at Matt. "Did _he_ suggest that or did _you_ put the idea in his head?"

Matt winced. "Well I just thought--"

"That I'm fragile like Adam? Is that it?"

"Hey, I'm standing right here!" Adam protested.

Jeff ignored him and kept glaring at Matt. He didn't know why his anger was getting so out of control at the moment. He knew he needed to reel it in, but he couldn't seem to get a hold of himself. "What if I don't want to take time off Matt? What if I want to stay out on the road?"

Matt sighed. "Jeff, it was just a suggestion. Nobody is making you do anything."

"Yet anyway," Jeff muttered.

Matt frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means I know you Matt. It means pretty soon you're going to get yourself all worked up and then you're going to try to play the big hero and try to make me deal with issues I don't have."

Adam raised his eyebrows. "If you don't have issues, then why do you still scream for Dave to stop hurting you whenever you sleep?"

Jeff didn't answer him. He couldn't even begin to think of an answer that wasn't a flat out lie. So he did what any self respecting man did: he stormed out and slammed the door behind him. _Damn it Matt, why can't you let me live in my own world of denial? Why do I have to deal with everything at your pace? I'm not Adam; I don't want you babying me every step of the way. I just want you to leave me alone._

He walked to Mark's locker room as fast as he could, not even stopping to talk to Jay and Phil as he passed them. When he got to where he wanted to be, he knocked on the door with a shaky hand. His anger towards Matt had been replaced with the nervousness of not completely knowing what he was getting himself into. "Come on, come on, answer the door, answer the door…"

James did answer the door about a half a minute later. "Rainbow!" he said happily. He grabbed Jeff by the hand and pulled him into the room. "I'm glad to see you. Marky and I really want to talk to you."

_Damn, he's strong_, Jeff thought to himself as he kept getting pulled along into the center of the room. He literally felt like a rag doll in the grip of the large man.

"Let him go you jackass," Mark said with a roll of his eyes. He was standing by the bench, making sure all his stuff was gathered up. "If you accidentally bruise the boy, I'm accidentally going to shove my foot up your ass."

James pouted but did as he was told. "You're mean Marky," he said. "I wasn't going to bruise him."

Jeff rubbed his wrist a little bit. "I don't know about that. You're stronger than you obviously think you are."

James grinned. "Actually, I do know that I'm that strong, I just forget sometimes."

Mark rolled his eyes. "No, sometimes you just don't care. There's a big difference."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Jeff asked. He didn't mean to be rude by abruptly changing the subject, but he couldn't help it. The damn anticipation was getting to him.

Mark and James exchanged looks. "Well," Mark said, taking a step towards Jeff. "Here's the thing Jeff. I think the others have pointed out to you on more than one occasion that I have feelings for you, and vice versa."

Jeff nodded. Sometimes their friends couldn't shut up about how he and Mark would look so cute together.

"But James and I have a very long history together," Mark went on. "We were each other's first and until you came into the picture, we thought that it would always be the two of us…and that thought made me drink heavily."

James flipped Mark off. "Fuck you mother fucker. You're an asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah I know," Mark said. "But you came into the picture Jeff, and well, James and I ran into a problem. I fell in love with you but I came to realize that I still have feelings--"

"He means love but he won't say it," James interjected.

Mark glared at him but kept talking. "for James," he finished.

"So how do we solve this?" Jeff asked.

"It's simple really," James said. "The three of us, we all date each other."

Jeff stared at him in shock. That had been one of the main ideas running through his head, but he hadn't thought it would actually be a possibility. "Are you serious?" he managed to squeak out.

Mark nodded. "Look, there are things in our past that we'll have to discuss in the near future. James and I have done stuff that…well it's just plain bad, let's leave it at that for now. But we both want you and what the hell are you doing James?"

Jeff suddenly found himself being turned around and James's lips were suddenly on his own. He kissed back as best as he could, although he felt like his lips were completely helpless against James's onslaught.

Just when Jeff was starting to have trouble breathing, James broke the kiss. "What do you say Jeffey?" he asked. "You want to give this a shot?"

Jeff looked back and forth between James and Mark for a minute before nodding. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "I'll try it."

Mark and James grinned at each other. "Well I say we go out and celebrate," James said. "Drinks are on Mark tonight!"

"What?" Mark yelled.

"Relax, I meant that literally," James assured him. "I want to do body shots."

Mark rolled his eyes and went back to gathering his stuff up.

James pulled Jeff aside to whisper in his eyes. "Don't worry, I've got Mark's credit card," he assured him. "So we're going to drink as much as we want, okay?"

Jeff sighed. _Mark's going to kill him if he's not careful. Jeez, what have I gotten myself into here?_


	9. Chapter 9

Cody sat back in his seat. He and the majority of his friends were all at a club at the moment. Matt and Adam were back at their hotel, sleeping until they caught a flight back to North Carolina. Cody had lied to Matt about Jeff being with them because Jeff had asked him to. Honestly, he had no idea where Jeff was at the moment. He had only said he would be with Mark and James, and since Cody trusted Mark, that was the end of that discussion.

Taking a sip of his drink, Cody looked at the people around him. Phil and Morrison were beside him, trying to have a thumb wrestling war. Cody didn't think it was exactly fair because Morrison had been drinking tequila and Phil only had a Pepsi, but he wasn't going to say anything. Morrison looked like he was having fun, which was a nice change of pace because he hadn't been quite himself since he and Mike had split up. Jay and Evan were talking quietly amongst themselves, ignoring everyone around them. John and Shawn were out on the dance floor, not even moving to the beat of the music. They were just completely lost in each other. Honestly, if John didn't propose soon, Cody was going to slap the fuck out of him. Everyone had been waiting for the wedding for the past year, and people were starting to get impatient.

All the way across the bar, Cody could see that Randy was surrounded by guys who were basically throwing themselves at him. It was a sight that was pretty typical, but lately it had been making Cody sick to his stomach. He had always had a little crush on the Legend Killer, but he had never really made a move to express those feelings (the Spin the Bottle game not withstanding) because he knew Randy and fidelity were just two words that did not go together. Randy had tried that with Hunter back in the Evolution days, and had his heart broken in the process. Since then, Randy just bounced from one guy to the next, only sticking around for sex. And as badly as Cody wanted Randy to fuck him, he wanted a lot more than that from the older man.

"Maybe if you just told him how you felt, things would work out."

Cody turned to face Ted. "How do you always know when I'm thinking about him?"

"Because you get a really stupid and angst filled look on your face," Ted replied. He downed a shot of tequila. "Look, you're not going to accomplish anything by being a pussy about this. Be a man and tell him how you feel."

"And possibly get my heart smashed to pieces in the process? I think I'll pass," Cody replied.

Ted shook his head. "You're a sad, sad man."

Cody sighed. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. "What about that moment you and Glenn shared earlier? I saw the way you two were looking at each other."

Ted quickly shook his head again. "I have no idea what you are talking about Cody."

"Oh yes you do. You think Glenn's cute, don't you?"

"Rhodes, if you do not shut up, I'm going to--oh my God!"

"What, is Glenn naked?" Cody teased as he looked to where Ted was looking. His jaw dropped when he saw what Ted saw. "Oh sweet Jesus," he said under his breath. "It's a good thing Matt's not here. He would flip his shit if he saw this right now."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff held on to James as the two of them and Mark made their way from the club. He was actually kind of cold, but that had to do with the black mesh shirt and low riding leather pants that exposed his hip bones. His hair was damp and hanging down the sides of his face. James had fixed him up after the decision for all of them to be together had been made. James had wanted him to look all pretty while they celebrated and Mark had been into the idea too, so Jeff had gone along with it. It had been awhile since he had been dressed like this, mainly because he had been kind of afraid of attracting the wrong attention. But now that he was with James and Mark, he didn't feel quite as scared as he had been since Dave had hurt him. He knew they wouldn't let anything happen to him if they could help it.

"I'll go find us a table," Mark said after they got their drinks.

James shook his head. "Nope, you're not doing that Marky. You're going to dance with me and Jeff right now."

"Lawson, I've told you a thousand fucking times that I do not dance," Mark replied with a growl.

"But it'll be fun!" James whined.

"Yeah Mark, it'll be fun," Jeff piped up. He pouted his lips at the older man. "Please? Dance with us?"

Mark sighed in frustration. "You two are going to be the death of me," he said as he reluctantly let himself be pulled out to the dance floor. "I hope you know that."

Jeff giggled and held on to Mark's hands tightly. "Oh come on Mark, don't be grouchy with us. We just want you to have fun."

Mark rolled his eyes but didn't object to what Jeff was saying. As soon as they were out on the dance floor, Jeff found himself right in the middle of a James/Mark sandwich. Mark was in front of him, kind of shifting from foot to foot, obviously wanting to not be doing this at the moment. James, on the other hand, was getting into this. He wrapped his arms around Jeff's waist from behind, matching Jeff move to move. Jeff got lost in the music, and he stopped caring about the way everyone (including his own friends) were staring at him. He just kept moving his body, feeling the effect he was having on James pressed right up against him and seeing Mark's reaction for himself.

"That's it," Mark said after only an hour or two. "Forget this club celebrating shit. I want to take this party somewhere else."

Jeff pouted. "You just don't want to dance anymore," he accused.

"Well yeah, there's that," Mark agreed. "But I also just want to fuck your pretty little brains out. Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you dance?"

Jeff turned a deep shade of red. James laughed at him for that and the three of them left the club. Mark got on his motorcycle first, and James lifted Jeff on to the thing before sitting behind him on it. "You know, I don't think three of us on this thing is very safe," Jeff commented.

"Don't worry Jeffey; Mark won't wreck," James assured him. "And I'm not going to let you fall off. I can't have fun with you if you're road kill."

"You know, the sad part is, he considers that kind of talk romantic," Mark said as he started up the bike.

"Bite me Callaway," James snapped.

"Don't tempt me Lawson," Mark snapped back.

Jeff put his arms around Mark's waist and held on tightly as the older man drove them back to the hotel. He really wished he had on a different shirt on at the moment. The wind blowing on him was chilly, and it was causing his nipples to harden just a little bit.

Almost sensing this, James's thumbs drifted up and began circling Jeff's nipples, really hardening them into little stubs. Jeff let out a slight moan, not really wanting to get all worked up on a motorcycle but not willing to tell James to stop.

"James, are you doing something to Jeff back there?" Mark asked.

"No," James blatantly lied as his finger ghosted the crotch of Jeff's pants.

Jeff let out a frustrated whine. "Mark, he's teasing me!"

"James," Mark said in exasperation.

"It's not teasing if I plan to follow through with it," James replied. He started planting little kisses all over Jeff's neck. "He just needs to learn to be patient."

_But I don't want to be patient!_ Jeff whined inside his own head. He wanted to verbalize that whine, but all that escaped his lips was a slutty little moan. Damn it, why did the hotel have to be so far away? He wanted to be there now! Bastard thing.

Ten very long minutes later, they were back at the hotel. James once again started carrying Jeff around, although Jeff didn't mind it at all. In fact, he started kissing and biting at James's neck in an effort to get a little payback for the teasing he endured on the motorcycle. "You're going to be asking for trouble if you're not careful Jeffey," James warned him as Mark unlocked the room door.

Jeff grinned and kept doing what he was doing. "Maybe I like trouble," he said.

Mark got the door unlocked and immediately snatched Jeff away from James. "Mine!" he growled selfishly. "Get your own!"

"Hey!" James protested. "We're sharing you dildo!"

Jeff didn't get much of a chance to giggle about the fact that James had just called Mark a dildo. He was being set down on the bed and kissed by Mark before he knew what was happening. He wrapped his arms around Mark's neck, enjoying how loving and gentle Mark was being with him. Because honestly, that was the main difference between Mark and James. Mark was still taking care of him just like he had been for years, which was always nice. James was a lot more demanding and seductive, which was all kinds of fun.

James grabbed Mark by the hair and yanked him back. "Bastard," he growled as he made Mark look at him. "You can't be mean like that! I want Jeffey here too!"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Don't whine James. You sound like a bitch when you do that."

James growled and responded by kissing Mark roughly. Jeff watched them, half jealous, half turned on by the sight that was before him. The two of them were so rough with each other and he honestly thought one of them was going to bite the other's lips off.

An uncontrolled whine came out of Jeff's mouth without him realizing it, which caused James and Mark to break apart. "Aw, Jeff's feeling left out," James realized. "I think we should do something about that Marky."

Mark nodded in agreement. "You know what James? I think you're finally talking sense."

Jeff moaned as Mark kissed him again. He could feel Mark literally tearing the shirt off his body and James working on getting the way too tight pants off his body. He lifted his hips up and tried to help James out as best as he could.

"Fucking things…I should have known they would cause trouble," James muttered under his breath. He kept yanking on them until he finally got them off. "There we go. That's better."

Jeff moaned as Mark's lips moved off his and traveled down his neck. He was completely at the mercy of two men that were way stronger than he was, but he was okay with that at the moment. He whined as he felt James's teeth grip his thong and yank it down.

"What the hell are you doing you animal?" Mark asked.

"Getting a little taste of dear sweet Jeff," James replied.

Jeff gasped as he felt James take his dick into his mouth. "Oh fuck," he groaned, digging his nails into Mark's shoulder. He tried to thrust his hips up, but James was holding them down. "Damn it…James…please…"

"You're so pretty when you beg," Mark commented with a smirk. He nipped at Jeff's neck just hard enough to draw blood. "Did you know that?"

Jeff whined desperately. He had been told that on different occasions, so he had been aware of that. But before tonight, he had no idea the possible effect both Mark and James could have on him. It was almost too much for him to take. "Mark…" he panted as Mark nipped at his painfully hard nipples. "Need you…James…fuck me…same time right now…"

Mark raised his eyebrows. "You think you can handle that Jeff?"

Jeff nodded desperately. "Please…"

James chuckled at that moment, and the vibrations from that sent Jeff over the edge completely. His body jerked uncontrollably, his moans turning into whimpers as Mark got up in search of lube. "James…"

"Kid, you have no idea what you've just requested," James said with a grin. He gently ran his fingers over Jeff's face. "I hope you know that."

Jeff turned his head just enough to kiss James's fingertips. "I don't care," he insisted. "I want it."

"Wow Lawson, I never thought I'd see the day when you warned someone about the ramifications of sex with us," Mark said as he returned with the lube. He popped the top and spread some on his fingers. "I'm so shocked right now."

James rolled his eyes. "I just did it so you wouldn't bitch at me later," he muttered. He began stripping off his clothes. "You're annoying when you bitch."

Jeff's eyes widened as James's pants were removed. The older man hadn't been wearing underwear in the first place, so Jeff immediately got a glimpse of what James was packing. And what he saw almost made him reconsider the double anal thing, mainly because he didn't know if he could stretch that far. Mark and James were both at least ten inches long each (he knew that about Mark because he once got a peek of it in a shower--although he hadn't supposed to have been there but Phil had made him look and he would die before he actually mentioned that to Mark).

Mark saw the look on Jeff's face and gave him a little kiss. "Shhh, don't look like that. We'll help you get through it."

Jeff tried to say something in response to that, but he could only gasp as Mark slid two fingers inside of him. He closed his eyes, feeling James kissing at his collar bone and letting Mark stretch him. After a few minutes he felt Mark add a third finger and then he felt James add three fingers of his own. It definitely hurt, but he knew that it was going to be nothing compared to what he was going to be feeling in a little bit. "Oh fuck," he moaned as someone's finger managed to find his prostate.

"Damn it to hell, he's fucking tight," James muttered. "I don't think we're going to fit Marky."

"We'll fit," Mark said. "The lube will help." He pulled his fingers out, much to Jeff's disappointment. "Keep working on him for a minute, will you?"

James did what he was told (for once) and Jeff opened his eyes to watch Mark undress. His heart was pounding really hard inside his chest, but he did his best to hide his nervousness. He groaned as James kept fucking him with his fingers. It was almost like the guy was trying to make him cum again before Mark even was ready to fuck him.

"That's enough Lawson," Mark ordered. "Come here Jeff."

James removed his fingers and stuck his tongue out at Mark as the Deadman sat down beside Jeff. Jeff let himself be picked up and he kissed Mark lightly as the older man helped him lower himself on his hard dick. "Fuck," he groaned, grabbing on to Mark's hair just so he could have something to hold on to. "Mark…"

"Fucking hell Jeff," Mark said as he took deep breaths. "You are so fucking tight."

Jeff just moaned in response and let Mark help move his hips up and down. He almost forgot about James until he felt his fingers running up and down his spine. "That tickles," he said with a laugh.

"What the hell are you doing that for?" Mark asked.

"I'm just distracting him," James said.

Jeff didn't have a chance to ask about what he was being distracted from. He soon felt it going right up his ass. "Ow," he whimpered, closing his eyes and letting out a small scream as James pushed himself the rest of the way in. Fuck that had hurt like a bitch. "Wait wait wait, I need a minute…"

"We know, we know," Mark assured him. "I think we need a moment too."

"Fucking right we do," James muttered. He was resting his head on Jeff's shoulder. "Damn to hell Jeff, you feel like a damn virgin."

"I might not after this," Jeff muttered as he took several deep breaths. Once he started getting past the pain, he opened his eyes and began feeling a kind of pleasure that he had never felt before. "Okay, you can move now," he finally said.

Mark and James exchanged looks before pulling nearly all the way out and pushing back in roughly. Jeff let out a howl, but this time it was more out of pleasure than pain. He dug his nails into Mark's back, nearly tearing a chunk out of the larger man's shoulder because he kept biting it. "Mark…James…oh fuck…damn it…."

"Fuck…Jeff…so good…so fucking tight…" Mark gasped out.

James wasn't even talking. He was just kissing and sucking on Jeff's neck, no doubt leaving hickeys Jeff would be teased about tomorrow.

Jeff closed his eyes again, the pleasure being too great to keep them open. "Touch me," he begged. "Someone touch me please."

James immediately did that, and it became too much for him to take. He drew blood as he bit Mark's shoulder, his screams still loud even though they were muffled. His orgasm triggered either Mark's or James's (he honestly couldn't tell anymore because he was lost in his own pleasure) and that one triggered the other's. He could feel himself being filled beyond full with cum, and some of it actually got on the bed when Mark and James pulled out of him.

"Fuck," Jeff muttered as he collapsed on the bed. He felt so exhausted that he was too tired to deal with a potential problem. "I don't think I'm going to be able to walk any time soon."

Mark and James looked at each other before chuckling.

"That's not funny assholes," Jeff whispered. He tried to open his eyes so he could glare at them, but he was too tired. "You…I'll yell at you too later…me sleepy right now…"

"Go ahead and sleep then," Mark told him. "We'll be right here when you wake up."

"And if I'm not, that only means I'm getting Skittles," James said.

Jeff smiled. "Skittles….I like Skittles…Skikittles good…I…" That was when Jeff drifted off to sleep completely.


	10. Chapter 10

_James was swimming in a river of blood. Where this river of blood was located and how he got there was beyond him. What he did know was that the coppery smell of the blood was driving him absolutely crazy. He could feel his chest tighten up and breathing became a real bitch. His body started to do this any time he went too long without a kill. It was why he couldn't just stop cold turkey like Mark had. He was in too deep. He was too fucking addicted to it._

_He swam over to the shore and pulled himself out of the blood. As he was getting back on his feet, he found himself face to face with his own mother. Caroline looked like she had been stitched together by an amateur doctor or something like that (after he had tortured her for hours, he had hacked up her body and buried her deep underneath his basement floor). "Fucking bitch," he snarled. "Don't you ever stay dead?"_

_She just smiled at him before attempting to stab him in the neck with a straightened out wire hanger…_

James woke up in a shaky, cold sweat. He took several deep breaths, fucking hating that he had just dreamed about his mother. Mark and Jeff were still asleep. It was only four in the morning. Without a word, James carefully climbed out of bed and slipped some clothes on. His temples were pounding terribly and his mind was slipping away from the sanity he sometimes had trouble maintaining. He needed to kill something. A bloody and gruesome murder would soothe him. Sure Mark would be mad and stuff, but he would get over it. He should have predicted that the bloodlust would start getting out of control eventually. James couldn't control it all the time, and if he tried ignoring it now, he would end up hurting the first person who rubbed him the wrong way. But if he took care of it now and just hurt some random and useless stranger, everything would be okay.

The halls of the hotel were eerily quiet as James left his room and walked through them. Pretty much all the people had to be asleep by now. He wondered if they were sleeping peacefully or if they were having nightmares. He didn't really classify dreams involving his mom nightmares; they were just unpleasant reminders that she had once been alive. He reached into his pocket and fingered the knife he always had with him. Jeff didn't know about it yet because he usually kept it in his back pocket when he was around the younger man. He knew he and Mark had to tell Jeff about the killing people thing. It was Mark's past and James's past, present and future. James knew he couldn't give it up and he didn't want to. He wasn't a good man. He didn't think of himself as evil, but he knew he wasn't good. And Jeff had to know that, or the relationship wouldn't last.

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw a hooker wandering the streets by herself. _Perfect,_ he thought to himself as he began to follow her. Nobody was going to miss her. She was a nobody, a faceless girl lost on the street. There were dozens like her. It couldn't hurt to just have some fun with this one little bitch before going back and pretending to be "normal".

XXXXXXXXXX

Jeff woke up at about eleven the next morning. He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes, smiling as Mark continued to snore beside him. He turned over on his other side and saw that James was already up. He was sitting up and shirtless, the TV remote in one hand and enough Pixie Stix to feed an army on his lap. "Where did you get those?" Jeff asked in amazement.

"I went out for a walk this morning and I hit Toy R Us as soon as they were open," James replied. "It's like the only place besides a candy shop I can find these things." He nodded down towards them. "You can have some if you want."

Jeff didn't need to be told twice. He immediately just helped himself. "I love Pixie Stix," he said as he poured some into his mouth. "I wish I could live off these and Skittles. That would be the life."

"Yeah until you got a shit load of cavities," James said. He opened up a purple Pixie Stix straw. "That would suck." He leaned over Jeff so he could reach Mark.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked.

James responded by pouring the purple powder candy all the way up Mark's spine. Then he licked the path he had made, earning a groan from Mark.

"I'm tired Lawson. Don't start that now."

Jeff giggled. "He sounds like a sleepy bear."

James smirked. "Yeah, but that's nothing yet." He began biting at Mark's ear until Mark sat up, threw him off to the floor and then laid back down.

Jeff's jaw dropped. Damn, Mark was just plain violent to James. "Oh Jesus, are you okay?" he asked as James got back on the bed.

"I'm fine," James said with a grin. "That's not the worst he's ever hurt me."

"Oh." Jeff tilted his head to the side so he could get a look at James's neck. "Did he give you that scar?" He pointed to the same one he had asked about back at the amusement park.

James shook his head. "No. My mom did that when I was three. She never wanted me and she tried to give herself a c-section to get rid of me before I was born, but my grandparents caught her. This scar happened when I was three. She took a wire hanger to my neck. I think she meant to slash my throat, but I fought her and bit her and I got away."

Jeff stared at James in horror. That was just beyond anything he had ever heard. "Oh my God. What did your dad do?"

James chuckled. "Dad didn't care. He hated me too. My whole family hated each other. The only reason my grandparents didn't let Mom abort me and my twin Annabelle was because it would reflect poorly on their own image. Then again, I almost can't blame Mom. Jacob was such a pathetic excuse for a human being even back then that I wouldn't have wanted to risk having someone like him again." He shook his head. "But they're all dead now, so I guess it really doesn't matter anymore."

"How did they die?" Jeff asked. He was just beginning to realize just how little he actually knew about James.

"Well Annabelle got cancer and she let it beat her." James sounded a little bitter about that. "She never really got over the hell our parents put us through. Sometimes I think she had it worse than I did because she couldn't fight back about the same way I could."

"And your parents and your brother?"

"Murdered."

"By who?"

"Me."

The very blunt revelation left Jeff absolutely stunned. For a minute, he was sure he hadn't heard that right, but he saw that James was being completely serious about it. And from the tiny glimpse of information that had just been revealed about his parents, it almost didn't seem surprising. "You killed them?" he finally managed to say.

James nodded. "Dad was first one I got rid of. It wasn't actually planned. We got into an argument one day and when Annabelle tried to break us apart and he hit her. That got a fist fight going between us and we were in the kitchen and I grabbed the nearest knife and stabbed him. I had always wanted to do it but it wasn't like I set out that day to actually go through with it. But after fourteen years of him trying to push me around and the way he used to look at Annabelle…fucking perv probably wanted to rape her like he did those other girls I used to see in the house from time to time."

"Other girls?" Part of Jeff didn't want to keep hearing more, but this was like a train wreck. There was no way he couldn't hear this out.

"Yeah," James said. "He brought girls home and I'd hear them crying in his bedroom and stuff. He used to drug them so they would be too weak to fight and those drugs messed with their memories so they couldn't remember anything clearly the next day. And if Mom would get a hold of those girls, she would beat the crap out of them. It was absolutely nuts." He went back to eating the Pixie Stix for awhile, glancing over at Mark, who had fallen back into his deep sleep. "Jacob was actually an accident, although I wasn't actually sorry about it. Mark and I got into some trouble with a couple of assholes and they thought it would be funny to break into my house with guns and shit like that. Things got crazy and I shot my own gun off, but I ended up shooting Jacob instead before I got the pricks. So in all honesty, that was an accident. Jacob hadn't even been enough on my radar for me to even bother wanting to kill him."

"What about your mom?"

James got a dark look on his face. "Oh I planned her death. That was fully intentional. I hated her more than anyone in my life."

Well that was pleasant. Jeff sat there, playing with the candy, not sure what to do with all this information. He pretty much already knew that Mark had to know all of this. There was just no way that he couldn't. "Why are you telling me all this?" Jeff finally asked.

"Because you need to know it." James looked over at Mark, who was stirring just a tiny bit. "I'm not the good guy. Mark is that guy now, although he can turn into the mean mother fucker he used to be. But that's going to be his deal to tell you the shit he did in the past. Me, I'm just giving you the brief highlights of my unpleasant past because when Mom and Dad fucked me up that early on, my world perspective probably became even more sick and twisted than it would have been in the first place." He got off the bed. "That's just my opinion on the subject anyway. I accept responsibility for the choices I've made, even though they're horrifying by society's standards. But still, Mom and Dad need to have a little bit of the blame. They helped make me the way I am after all." He handed Jeff the rest of the candy. "I'm getting in the shower. You can have all this. I don't want it anymore."

Jeff just sat there as James went into the bathroom, not sure what to think. One of the men he had just slept with killed a good chunk of his own family. _But his parents deserved it and his brother's death was an accident. _

_Yeah, that might be true_, a voice in the back of his head said. _But who says he hadn't done any killing BEFORE his parents or who's to say he hasn't done it since? I mean, he's charming and all that, but come on Jeff! There's something not quite right going on in his head._

Jeff sighed. He didn't know what to think anymore. His brain hurt now. And now there were questions that he really didn't want the answers to.

Mark grumbled under his breath and opened his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily. "What did I miss?"


	11. Chapter 11

"Fucking hell, how can he sleep all day?" Adam muttered to himself. It was twelve thirty in the afternoon and Matt was still in bed. They were home now and had spent most of the night making love. Still, he had had the decency to wake up by noon. Matt hadn't been so courteous and now Adam was flipping through the TV channels, hoping to find something to watch that would distract him from his boredom.

Finally, after lots of searching, he found something that caught his attention. Unfortunately, it didn't catch it in a good way. _Law and Order: SVU_ was on and it was about an abusive guy who killed his former male lover and was abusing his current boyfriend. He watched the drama unfold, wishing he could change the channel but being too frozen to do so. The whole episode hit way too close to home with him. The abusive asshole on the show was too much like Dave and the poor guy being abused reminded him a lot of himself. He became so entranced by the show that he actually screamed as Lucas barked at something out the window and the phone rang.

Placing one hand over his racing heart, he grabbed the phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"ADAM!" Shawn yelled so loudly that Adam had the hold the phone a good distance away from his ear. "GUESS WHAT? JOHN PROPOSED! WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

"That's great Shawn," Adam said, switching which ear he was holding the phone too and began rubbing the other one so he could regain the hearing in it. "Now did you have to make me go deaf with that announcement?"

"Sorry," Shawn said sheepishly. "I'm just excited! John has no idea how happy he's made me."

"Oh I'm sure he's figured it out by now," Adam replied. He got up and went into the kitchen. "You're only screaming like a maniac."

"I am not! You're just jealous!"

"Please, I have Matt. The day I'll be jealous of you having John is the day pigs will fly out of my ass."

Shawn snorted. "Yeah, whatever. I have to let you go Adam. I need my Champ to ravish me again."

Adam chuckled and hung up the phone. Shawn was like a horny teenager sometimes. Sighing, he put the phone down and stared out the window. Shawn's call had given him a temporary distraction, but it didn't make him stop thinking about what was really bothering him. He couldn't take his mind off of Dave. Even though Dave was dead, he knew very well that would have been his fate if Matt hadn't saved him. Whether he would have killed himself or if Dave would have lost control of himself completely and killed him himself was only a debate now. But the thing that wasn't up for debate was that he was lucky to be alive. _Although if that's the case, then why can't I just let the past go? Why can't I forget what he used to do to me and just move on?_

"Babe? Are you okay?"

Adam turned around to see that Matt was behind him now. His dark haired lover was holding little Lucas in his arms like a baby. "I'm fine," Adam lied. "I was just spacing off."

Matt didn't look like he believed him, but he didn't push the subject. "I heard the phone ring. Who was it?"

"Shawn. He had to tell me that John proposed."

"Oh, so they're finally getting married?"

"Yup. Shawn's going nuts because he's so damn happy." Adam shook his head with a small grin. "Honestly, he sounded more like an excited school girl than a guy in his forties. It was almost scary."

Matt chuckled. "That's Shawn for you." He suddenly turned serious. "I think I should call Jeff. He and I didn't exactly leave on the best of terms."

Adam nodded. He knew the fight the two brothers had gotten into had been bugging Matt more than he cared to admit. "You should give him another hour or so though. This is the time he usually eats lunch and you know he doesn't pick up the phone when he's eating."

"True. Okay, I'll just call him later. I'm sure he's probably forgotten about the whole thing anyway. I'm sure he's realized that Vince only told me to tell him that the time off thing was just a suggestion."

"Yeah, because he's mature enough to do that," Adam said with a grin.

Matt winced. "Okay, don't say it like that. That makes me worried that he's still mad."

"Oh don't worry Matt. He's probably not. He's probably just whining about you not being around to bug right this moment."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Mark stared back and forth between James and Jeff. James was out of the shower and Jeff was sitting on the bed, holding a glass of Jack Daniels that had been poured for him. "So let me get this straight," Mark said slowly. "James, after I managed to fall back asleep just a little bit ago, you saw fit to just go ahead and spill the beans about your very unpleasant family history and admit that you killed people."

"Technically he only admitted to killing members of his own family," Jeff pointed out.

"Oh, but I've killed too many people to count," James piped up. "Honestly, at this point, I've lost count on the number of people I've killed."

Mark rolled his eyes. "What happened to easing Jeff into this?"

"What? He had to know!"

"You killed someone this morning, didn't you? You killed someone and you got all reflective about it, didn't you?"

"It was just a hooker!"

Jeff made a weird kind of noise. "I need a drink," he said in a weak voice.

"You're holding one," Mark reminded him.

"Oh yeah." Jeff took a little drink of it. "James, I don't get it. How do you kill people and not feel bad about it?"

James just shrugged. "I think not having a conscience helps. Not having a conscience makes it impossible for me to feel bad about anything I've done."

"Oh." Jeff looked at Mark with wide eyes. "What about you Mark?"

Mark was silent for a minute before answering. He knew that since James had taken the liberty of opening his big mouth, there was no turning back now. "Dave was the first person I killed in ten years," he admitted. "And he's the last person I plan to kill. I'm not the guy I was when I was younger. Back when I was a lot younger, I was--"

"A dick," James interrupted.

Mark glared at him. "Do you mind? I'm trying to talk here."

James shrugged. "I'm just saying what needs to be said."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Well as much as I hate to admit it, James is right. I was a dick back then. James always killed because it made him happy. I killed…well I don't know. Sometimes I did it to see what the hell James saw in it. Sometimes I did it because he got us in so much trouble and I just got us out of it in the easiest way I could. Other times it was because I just could. None of these are actually good reasons, but it is what it is."

Jeff took another drink of his whiskey. "Oh." He looked at his drink before setting it down. "Matt can not find out about this," he said vehemently. "He will blow his shit if he finds out about this."

James and Mark exchanged looks. "That's it?" Mark said in surprise. "That's all you have to say?"

Jeff nodded. "Well that and don't tell me anymore. The less I hear about it, the better. I just…last night, was the best I felt since the whole Dave thing. I don't want to lose that. Maybe that's selfish, considering that you both should probably be in jail, but I don't care. I like being selfish. And I told you back in the hospital after you saved me that I'd still love you even if you were the bad guy Mark. And James…well you're freaky and scary, but that's okay because I like you."

James grinned. "I like you too Jeffey." He patted Mark on the shoulder. "You see Marky? This all worked out just fine. You just needed to have more faith."

Mark rolled his eyes. "James, don't talk to me about faith. The only thing you have faith in is your murderous ways."

"Yeah, but have they steered me wrong yet?"

"Oh I don't know. There have been a few situations that didn't turn out so well because of you."

"Fuck you Marky."

"Fuck you too Lawson."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "It's nice to see that the two of you get along the same even after this heart to heart talk."

"Hey, asking us to get along is just too much to ask," Mark said. He patted Jeff on the leg. "Now come on, let's go get something to eat. I'm fucking starving to death right now."


	12. Chapter 12

The news of John and Shawn's engagement spread quickly (there was no way it couldn't--Shawn kept screaming the news as loud as he could) and to celebrate, the entire gang decided to go down to Shawn's ranch in San Antonio. Jeff ended up in a car with James, Mark and Glenn, and he found the experience amusing yet scary at the same time. James wasn't even the one who was driving, yet he had the worst road rage that a person could possibly have.

"YOU CUNT LICKING SONS OF BITCHES!" he screamed out the window at the top of his lungs. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL YOU FUCKING COCKROACHES! THE SPEED LIMIT IS SEVENTY FIVE, NOT FIFTY! GET THE FUCK OFF THE ROAD YOU OLD CUNT!"

"James, if you do not stop that this instant, I'm going to pull this car over and kick your ass for an hour," Mark snarled. He was the one driving and he looked like he was going to lose it completely. "There is no reason to scream like that."

"Yes there is," James insisted. He put his head back inside the car. "These people do not know how to drive. You should run them off the road."

"I am not running them off the road."

"Why not? Are you a coward?"

"No, I'm just not the asshole driver you are."

"Pussy."

Jeff looked over at Glenn. The two of them were sitting in the back. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Only when we go on road trips like this," Glenn said. He looked like he had a gigantic headache. "I think Mark should have drugged him. Then we could enjoy the trip in peace."

James turned around and glared at Glenn. "Hey, Crispy Critter, shut the fuck up back there."

Glenn glared back at him. "Hey, Michael Myers, you shut the fuck up before you get some payback by setting you on fire."

Jeff frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, he didn't tell you? It was him that actually set the fire at the funeral parlor when we were kids. He killed my parents and nearly killed me too."

"James!" Jeff said in shock.

"How was I supposed to know he was there?" James said defensively.

"He lived there stupid," Mark replied. "Why wouldn't have he been there?"

Glenn shook his head at Jeff. "Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into kid?"

Jeff whined defensively. That question was getting really old, really fast. He didn't want to question his decision about being with James and Mark. He had loved Mark for years and because he saw how much James meant to Mark, he was starting to really develop those kinds of feelings for James too. He knew that the others (mainly Matt) would say he was moving too fast, but he didn't care. Mark and James were making him happy, and that was what he wanted. "I'm aware Glenn. I'm not stupid."

"No, you're just blinded by whatever mind control device they're using on you," Glenn said.

"Hey! Just because I kill people doesn't mean I use mind control!" James actually sounded offended. "I stay out of people's brains thank you very much!"

"Me too," Mark said. He glared at Glenn through the rearview mirror. "So why don't you hush up back there Glenn before we start talking about your little crush on Ted."

"I do not have a crush on Ted!" Glenn pouted. "Now shut up before I kick you in the head."

"You do that, and I will pull over just to kick your ass," Mark replied.

James laughed. "Do it! Do it! Do it!"

And that was how the rest of the trip went. Mark, James and Glenn continued to bicker among themselves and Jeff laughed at them the whole time. As soon as they got to Shawn's ranch, Mark and Glenn leapt out of the car and started wrestling around on the ground. Morrison, Phil, Evan and Cody started cheering them on while Randy and Jay started throwing cheap shots at the both of them. That made the Brothers of Destruction stand up and chase after both the Legend Killer and Captain Charisma.

"Aw the insanity," James said as he opened Jeff's door for him. "I love it." He grinned mischievously. "Get on my back. I want to give you a piggy back ride."

Jeff wasn't about to pass up that offer. He eagerly jumped up on to James's back and let out a yell as the madman began running around as fast as he could. "Take me to the horsies!" he demanded. "I want to see the horses."

"Oh good, maybe I can train one to throw Glenn off when he tries to ride it," James said as he ran over there.

"You can't do that. That's mean," Jeff objected.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to Jeffey boy." James set Jeff down by the fence that separated them from the horses. "Being nice isn't exactly in my nature."

"Yeah, okay, you got me there," Jeff admitted. He got up on his toes and gave James a kiss. "I should have known better than to say that." He started to reach out and pet the horses when James stopped him.

"Come on, that's all you're going to give me?" he pouted. "I'm insulted.

Jeff rolled his eyes as he kissed James again, moaning happily as it turned on into a full make out session. _Now if we just had Mark here…_

"Jeffery Nero Hardy!"

Jeff jumped away from James like he had been shot. _Damn it, I said wanted my other boyfriend, not my brother!_

Matt looked like he was going to have a heart attack and Adam just looked confused (but to be fair, that was nothing new). "What the hell are you doing?" Matt demanded to know.

"We were making out," James replied. He looked slightly annoyed by the interruption. "Now go away, because I want to do it some more."

"No, I am not going away! And I wasn't talking to you!"

"Matt, chill out for a second," Jeff pleaded. He didn't want Matt freaking out like this without getting a chance to explain himself.

Adam raised his hand. "I thought you liked Mark."

"He does," Mark said. He had decided to abandon his quest to destroy Jay and Randy and join this party. "He likes both of us and we like him." Just to prove his point, he grabbed Jeff and kissed him for a good minute before letting go and then doing the same thing to James.

Adam's jaw dropped. "Holy crap. That's actually kind of hot."

Matt glared at his boyfriend. "No, this is not hot! They are taking advantage of Jeff!"

"No they are not!" Jeff insisted as Mark and James sent pissed off glares in his direction. "I wouldn't let them do that! They gave me a choice and I chose this. I wanted this."

Matt just looked completely blown away by this whole thing. "Mark, how can you think this is a good idea? I mean, it's only been a few weeks since--"

"Don't you bring that up!" Jeff yelled. He knew where Matt was going and he didn't like it. "Don't you dare bring Dave into this! This has nothing to do with him!"

James stepped up and motioned for everyone to shut up and calm down. "Jeff, this isn't about that really. This is about me." He studied Matt carefully. "You wouldn't have a damn problem with this if he was seeing just Mark. But because I'm in the picture, you're going into this psycho, overprotective mode."

"And don't I have the right to do that?" Matt demanded to know. "I don't even know you. Jeff doesn't even know you that well."

Jeff glared at his older brother. "I--"

"You just met him and there's no way you know him as well as you think you do," Matt interrupted.

"He knows more about James than you ever will," Mark muttered.

Matt glared at the Deadman. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Jeff shook his head. He wasn't going to fight with Matt about this. It was a waste of time and it wasn't going to change anything. "Matt, I'm sorry you don't like this, but this is what I want. The sooner you accept that, the better off we'll all be." With that he stormed off, leaving two very amused boyfriends, one pissed off brother and one still befuddled Adam behind. _Matt will come around once he gets used to the idea,_ he told himself. _I think…I hope…fuck, we're going to be fighting about this again before the night is over. I just know it._


	13. Chapter 13

Adam watched Matt angrily storm around the guest bedroom that Shawn had put them in. He could understand why Matt was a little uneasy about Jeff jumping into a relationship with two guys at the same time, but he thought that his boyfriend was blowing this out of proportion more than a little bit. "Baby calm down," he pleaded. "You don't need to be so upset right now. This is not that big of a deal."

Matt gave Adam a disbelieving look. "This is not that big of a deal? This is not that big of a deal? How can you say that? This is a very big deal! Jeff is dating two guys at the same time!"

"I know, and that is a little strange, but it's what he wants," Adam pointed out.

"In case you haven't noticed Adam, Jeff doesn't always wants what's best for him," Matt reminded him.

"But we know Mark. We trust him. And he trusts James, so--"

"We can't trust James just because Mark does. There's still so much that we don't know about him. Where is he from? What's his deal? What is his interest in Jeff?"

Adam knew that Matt had a good point, but he felt like the younger man was forgetting the possibility that Jeff knew the answers to these questions and just hadn't told anyone else. "Maybe you should just talk to James yourself then," he suggested. "And by talk, I mean talk like a rational human being. Don't start screaming at him about how he's not good enough to even touch your beloved little brother and definitely don't start threatening to cut his dick off or something stupid like that. I doubt he's the type of person who takes that very well."

Matt frowned. "Who said I would do that?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "Honey, you've threatened people just for looking at Jeff. I really don't want to think about what you could possibly threaten to do to a guy you don't like who's dating him."

Matt considered that. "Okay, you may have a good point," he admitted reluctantly. He wrapped his arms around Adam and grinned. "What would I do without you baby?"

"Suffer from lack of sex and you would get your ass handed to you by large men fucking your brother," Adam replied.

Matt groaned. "Oh baby, you really shouldn't have said that. Now I'm starting to get upset again."

"Sorry baby," Adam apologized. He grinned naughtily. "Maybe you should spank me for that."

"Maybe I should," Matt agreed. He started leading Adam towards the bed. "I mean, what kind of man would I be if I let that kind of naughtiness go unpunished?"

"Ew, this is getting gross. I don't want to listen to this anymore."

"Oh come on you prude, this is no different than watching a porno."

"Uh yes it is, because we can't see anything, so it's more like radio porn. And besides from that, we know these people! Matt's going to kick our ass if he hears us."

"Guys shut up! I'm going to try to open the door a crack so we can get a peek."

Adam rolled his eyes and pulled himself out of Matt's grasp so he could open the door. As soon as he did that, Cody, Ted, Evan and Phil all came falling into the room. He put his hands on his hips and glared at all of them. "Just what do you fuckers think you are doing?" he demanded to know.

Cody grinned sheepishly. "We were hoping to see you get spanked by Matt here."

"And why did you want to see that?"

"Uh…so we could write a letter to Penthouse?"

Adam pulled Rhodes up to his feet just so he could smack the younger man across the face. "First of all, Penthouse has girls in it, you stupid fuck. Second of all, you guys are not watching me and Matt do anything! This is our sexy time, so you need to go away!"

Ted snickered. "Sexy time?"

Adam let out a frustrated yell and went over to the bed. "Get out!" he yelled, picking up a pillow and swinging it around like a baseball bat. That caused the intruders to run out in a hurry. "And stay out!" he shouted as he slammed the door shut.

Matt collapsed down on the bed, tears streaming down his face because he was laughing so hard. "Oh my God, I think that was the funniest thing I had ever seen in my life," he said as he tried to regain his breath.

Adam grinned and threw down the pillow. "Damn children can't ever say out of our business," he muttered as he climbed up on to Matt's lap. "Now where were we, Mr. Hardy?"

Matt smirked. "I think we were discussing giving you a spanking."

Adam smirked back at him. "So why keep it at only a discussion? I still feel like I need to be punished Matty."

"Well okay then. Stand up and take your pants and underwear off and then get on your hands and knees on the bed."

Adam did what he was told, although he hadn't put on any underwear today. "Oh, so were you planning on seducing me today?" Matt asked as soon as he saw that.

"Maybe," Adam replied. He got on the bed and shook his ass just a little bit, making Matt groan. "What's wrong baby? Are you liking what you're seeing too much?"

"I always like what I see, but believe me, it's never too much," Matt responded. "It's just perfect." His fingers lightly traced Adam's ass before smacking it as hard as he could.

Adam let out a yell and held on to the bed sheets as tightly as he could. That had hurt, but it was the good kind of pain. It was the kind of pain that he wanted more of.

Matt chuckled, sending shivers down Adam's spine. "Oh baby baby," Matt cooed, slapping the blonde's ass three more times in quick succession before stopping and going back to lightly tracing it with his fingertips. "What am I going to do with you baby? Huh? Can you tell me that?"

Adam moaned helplessly as his ass was smacked again. His cock was starting to become painfully hard. "Fuck me," he gasped out.

"Are you sure?" Matt asked. "Is that what you really want?"

Adam nodded desperately. He wanted Matt to fuck him so badly that he could barely take it.

"Well okay then," Matt said. He quickly removed his own jeans before grabbing Adam by the waist and entering him quickly. Adam moaned and arched back in an effort to get Matt's dick even deeper inside of him. He trusted Matt completely and was used to him enough that they didn't always need to prep before fucking.

"Matt…oh fuck…Matty…harder…" Adam moaned slutishly. He rested his forehead against his left arm while his right hand reached down and stroked himself in time with Matt's thrusts.

Matt groaned and pulled on Adam's hair just a little bit. "Adam…fuck…so tight…so mine…"

"All yours," Adam agreed. He let out a yell as his prostate was hit, which sent him over the edge (no pun intended). He came all over his fist and the sheet, and just seconds later, he could feel Mattt's warm, sticky seed filling him to the brim.

"Matt you know what? This is stupid. I know we're going to fight later so why don't we--" the door opened "my eyes! I'm blind! Oh God I'm blind!"

Matt and Adam quickly separated and turned around to see that Jeff had just walked in. The younger man was staring at them with wide eyes, the Skittles he was holding nearly falling out of the bag because his grip had gone lax.

Matt grinned just a little bit. "You know what Jeff? I think we might need to talk about this later."

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, I agree." He started backing up. "You finish up here and I'll go throw up." He quickly ran off, but he was replaced by Shawn. The Heartbreak Kid only shook his head and pointed to the bed. "If you stain my sheets, you will be the one cleaning them or buying me new ones," he said before shutting the door, giving them their privacy again.

Adam sighed and looked down at the mess he had made on the bed. "Crap," he muttered. "Honey, what gets cum out?"

Matt shrugged. "That's a timeless question I don't have an answer to." He laid down on the bed and snuggled up to Adam. "We'll deal with that later. Right now we should rest up before round two."

Adam chuckled. "And what makes you think there will be a round two?"

"The fact that you can't resist me."

"Good point. But keep in mind, you can't resist me either."

"I know. That means we're stuck together."

"I don't mind that at all."

"Me neither, so this works perfectly."


	14. Chapter 14

James stared down at the two children staring up at him with big, wide eyes. He did not know how he got left all alone in the living room with Shawn's kids. John was supposed to be coming back with snacks, Mark had to go chase after Cody and Ted because they kept poking him with a stick, Jeff went to go find Matt and the others were somewhere that was not the living room. "Uh.…hi," he finally said.

Cheyenne tilted her head to the side. "Are you a giant like Mark and Glenn?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." James didn't really considered himself or the Brothers of Destruction to actually be giants, but he figured that to a little girl who was only like four feet tall, they would be giants.

"Are you Daddy's new friend?" Cameron asked.

"I uh…ask him that. I don't know if we're friends."

"So why are you here then?"

_Jesus, what is this, Twenty fucking Questions?_ "I'm here because I'm dating Mark and Jeff," James told them. "And since they are here, I got to come too."

That answer seemed to satisfy the children. But there was still one question left to be asked. "Do you want to play with us?" Cheyenne asked hopefully.

"Okay," James agreed. Hell, he didn't have anything better to do with his time. "What are we doing?"

"Well we were pretending to be explorers and stuff," Cameron explained. "And we want to get chased by headhunters, but we don't have any of those."

James sighed. "Why do I have the feeling that's the role I'm going to be made to play?"

The kids just giggled and pulled him over to the couch. "Sit down," Cheyenne ordered. "I need to paint your face up."

He sat down, thankful that his kids Cooper and Connor had given him some measure of patience with children a long time ago. Connor in particular had required loads of patience because he had been less than mentally stable. Actually, he still was completely crazy. _I really should try to find out where they've been for the past few weeks. It's usually not a good thing when I at least don't get a phone call by now._

John and Matt walked in at that moment. "What are you guys doing?" John asked.

"I'm going to be a headhunter," James replied. He frowned at Matt. "Why do your clothes look like they've been put on in a big hurry?"

Matt's face turned just enough of a shade of red to make James realize that sex had probably just been red. "Oh Hardy, that's just naughty," he teased.

"What's naughty?" Cameron asked.

"Nothing," John said quickly. "Listen, kids, Matt needs to talk to James alone, so why don't we go down to the basement and annoy Randy?"

The kids were all over that. They let out joyful yells and ran out of the room. John laughed and quickly followed them. James leaned back against the couch and stared at Matt with interest. "So what do you want to talk about?" he asked, although he pretty much knew the answer already.

Matt sat down in the chair that was across from James. "We need to talk about your relationship with my brother."

James folded his arms over his chest. "Alright."

"Do you love my brother?"

_Oh fuck, he had to go there, didn't he?_ "Is that really your business?" James snapped before he could stop himself.

Matt glared at him. "I just want to make sure Jeff's in a relationship that's good for him. I know Mark loves him."

"And how do you know that? Have you ever asked him?"

"I never had to. I could tell by his eyes."

"What about my eyes? What can you tell from them?"

Matt stared at them intently before shaking his head. "I don't know. They just look empty to me."

James stiffened. Caroline had given him a lot of shit about that when he had been younger. She said the emptyness she saw in his eyes represented what he was: absolutely fucking nothing. A waste of space that didn't deserve to live. Fucking bitch. Fucking Matt. Why couldn't he just leave this whole thing alone? Didn't Jeff being happy mean anything anymore?"

"James?" Matt said. He waved his hands in front of the older man's face. "You're spacing out on me dude."

"I like your brother," James finally growled. "He's a little sweetheart. And for whatever reason, he likes me back, and he likes the thing that's going on with us and Mark. If you don't want to like me, that's your business. But I'm not going to go away any time soon, and I'm sure as hell not telling you my life story because you don't know that it's time to cut the umbilical cord between you and Jeff." He got up and stormed out of the room, mostly still seething about the comment on his eyes. It was bothering him more than he liked. _Damn it, I killed Caroline way too long ago to let anything she used to say still bother me. I have to get a hold of myself._

But he couldn't get a hold of himself. It was maddening. Matt wasn't like his mother. Matt was watching out for Jeff. There was nothing wrong with that. It was a natural and normal thing to do. Besides, it wasn't like he had been the first person since Caroline to notice that his eyes didn't always display humanity. He should have been used to it. _Maybe it's jut bothering me because he had thrown for a loop when he started the conversation with a question that basically demanded him to say that I loved Jeff. Yeah, that was probably it. Now I just need to calm down and--_

Evan screamed just as he entered the kitchen. "Spider!" the young man screeched as he jumped into Morrison's arms. "It's a spider! Someone kill it!"

Morrison looked around. "With what?" he asked stupidly.

James rolled his eyes and looked at the spider that was crawling across the kitchen counter. It was about the size of a quarter and it was all icky and brown. Without really thinking about what he was doing, he took his knife out and brought it down hard. He stabbed the spider perfectly, almost laughing while he did it.

Morrison literally dropped Evan down to the ground. "Holy shit!" the Shaman of Sexy nearly yelled. "You…what…why…that thing is huge!"

James shrugged and grabbed a paper towel to clean up the remains of the spider. "My son Connor keeps bigger ones as pets, so that couldn't scare me."

"No, the knife!" Morrison said. "You carry that thing around with you?"

Oh, that was James's bad. Why the hell had he thought the younger man had been talking about the spider? He was really losing his mind. "I like my knife," was all he would say to that question. He put it away and just kind of shrugged. "You got a problem with that?"

Evan and Morrison exchanged looks before shaking their heads. Yeah, like they would speak up and say that they did. James did have the knife within reach after all.

"What's going on?" Shawn asked as he came in. "I heard screaming."

"Spider," Evan said as he got back up. "James killed it."

"Oh, okay." Shawn didn't say another word about the subject. He just grabbed the phone book and started looking through it. "Where should I order pizza from?" he asked.

James was just about to make a suggestion when the back door burst open. Ted and Cody came running in, all bug eyed and panting for breath. "We need help," Cody said desperately. "Mark's hurt."

"What?" James nearly snarled. "What did you two do?"

"We didn't do it to him!" Ted said defensively. He started trying to hide behind Cody. "We were running from him and then we heard him yell, so we turned around and he was on the ground, holding his knee."

"There was like a mole hole or something he might have stepped in," Cody added. "But he's still out there because he wouldn't let us help him. He actually almost punched me when I tried to help him anyway."

_Dumbass Mark: stubborn to the very end._ James went past Cody and Ted and ran out the back door before Shawn or anyone else could. He was going to get to his long time boyfriend first and he would be damned if anyone stopped him.


	15. Chapter 15

Mark winced in pain as he steadied himself up against a tree. He was up on his good leg now, but he couldn't put any weight on the one he had just hurt. Taking several deep breaths, he put just the tiny bit of weight on it. "Fuck!" he shouted as the leg almost buckled completely. That probably wasn't a good sign. He had been having a lot of knee problems for years, but he had always figured he would blow it out in the ring, not out in a yard chasing two idiots.

"Mark! What the hell have you done to yourself?"

Mark groaned as James approached him. "Come on Lawson, it's not that bad," he lied. He could tell James was going into full freakout mode. And that was not a good look on a psychopath. "I just tweaked something. I'll be fine in a little bit."

James looked far from convinced. "You can't lie to me Mark. I know you too well." He stopped and gently pulled up Mark's pant leg. His knee was already swollen to twice its normal size. "Fucking shit," James muttered. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Oh come on!" Mark protested. He had no patience for hospitals. "It's just a little swelling."

James gave him a deadly look that used to only be reserved for Caroline. "You are going to the hospital," he growled. "And that is that. Do you understand me."

Mark sighed. "Okay, okay, just calm down." He knew better than to argue with James on this one. Part of it was because he knew James was right and the other was because nobody argued with that look. Nothing good came out of it.

Satisfied, James threw Mark over his shoulder and began carrying him around like he was a sack of potatoes. "This part is not actually necessary," Mark grumbled.

"Yeah, but it would take longer if I just helped you walk," James pointed out. "And I would like to get you some medical attention before we all die of old age."

"Mark!" Jeff yelled. "Mark!"

Mark looked back to see Jeff running out of the house like there was no tomorrow. The others were all following him. "People I am fine!" he tried to insist. He knew them all too well and he knew they were going to make a scene. "I just aggravated something but I will be fine."

"Your knee is swollen up to twice its size," James pointed out. "I don't think that's fine."

"Lawson, would you shut up? Now is not the time to point out facts."

Jeff stared at Mark with wide eyes before turning around and hitting Ted and Cody. "Look what you did! You broke my Marky!"

"OW!" Cody screamed girlishly. "Jeff that hurts!"

"We didn't break him!" Ted said defensively. "The hole in the yard broke him!"

Jeff turned again and this time he clocked Shawn. "Why didn't you fill that hole up with dirt or something? Do you have any idea how irresponsible you were being?"

Shawn let out a yelp and tried to hide behind John. "Help! Someone keep the psycho Hardy off of me!"

Matt grabbed Jeff by the wrists and pulled him away from the others a little bit. "Come on Jeff, calm down," he said soothingly. "It was just an accident. Nobody wanted Mark to get hurt."

"Yeah, because they would be dealing with me if they did," James piped up. "Me and my favorite little toy."

Morrison snorted. "There's nothing little about that toy," he muttered.

Everyone looked back and forth between Morrison and James in confusion except for Mark. He just sighed and shook his head. He was going to have to talk to James about keeping his knife hidden from people. "Jeff, come with us to the hospital. The rest of you idiots stay here and not get into trouble, or I WILL sic James on you."

Nobody argued with him. Then again, very few people but James did. Jeff dutifully followed James to the car and he sat in the back with Mark on the way to the hospital. "Just what were you thinking anyway?" he asked Mark in a tone that sounded like he was trying to scold the Deadman. "Seriously, why would you run after Ted and Cody at your age? You should have gotten me to do it."

Mark gave him an offended look. "What the hell are you trying to say?"

"I think he just called you old," James said helpfully. "And he has a point."

"You're the same age as me asshole!"

"Yeah, but I'm not all beaten up from years in the ring, now am I?"

"You're going to be a lot more beaten up than I am once I get my hands on you."

"Oooh, are you trying to turn me on Mr. Callaway?"

"Hey!" Jeff exclaimed. "There will be no hanky panky in this car until we know Mark is okay!"

James chuckled. "Did you just say hanky panky?"

"Eyes on the road Lawson!" Mark yelled as James almost drifted into the lane of oncoming traffic. "I swear to God James, if you kill us, I will kick your ass after we are sent to hell."

Jeff pouted. "I don't think we would go to hell."

"James and I would," Mark reminded him. "We've done enough to earn it."

James snorted. "I don't think we would go to hell either. I think we would just die and then rot in the ground."

"I just said it as an expression," Mark said. "I wasn't implying that I believed anything."

"I never said you did."

"No, but you would have later. You always have a talent of twisting my words and throwing them back to my face. You're like a woman in that aspect."

James made a noise to show he was offended and he gave Mark the silent treatment the rest of the way to the hospital. Mark didn't mind so much until he realized James was going to carry him into the hospital and he was too angry to reconsider. "Come on Lawson, this is not fair!" he protested as he was hauled out of the car like he was nothing. "I am the Undertaker for God's sakes! I do not get carried into hospitals like this!"

"You do now," James replied. He smacked Mark on the ass. "Now quit bitching or I'll carry you like a little baby. I'm sure everyone would get a kick out of that."

Jeff saw the look on Mark's face and started to giggle. Mark shook his head and sighed. "I'm glad you're getting some amusement out of this."

"I can't help it," Jeff said. "You look so agitated and it's adorable."

James almost doubled over laughing while Mark glared at Jeff. "You know, with me being hurt, my tolerance for being called adorable is really, really low."

"Sorry," Jeff said. He didn't sound like he meant it though. "Cutie."

"Oh you are going to get it Jeffery Nero. I will get you for that one."

"How? I can run faster than you can on a normal day, and it wouldn't even be close now that you're hurt."

James chuckled. "I would just get you for him. I love his punishments. They're so much fun."

Jeff tilted his head to the side. He looked like he was doing some thinking. "Who's a cute little Deadman?" he asked mockingly. "Who's a cute little Marky?"

Mark growled, which made both Jeff and James laugh. _Oh they're both going to get it,_ he vowed as he was carried into the hospital. _I will personally make sure of that._

After a series of tests, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that Mark hadn't blown his knee out completely. The bad news was that he was that he had serverely aggravated his pre-exisisting injuries and instead of probably needing surgery again in a few years, he could really use it in just a few weeks. "I'll just do that shit in Houstan," he told the doctor. "I'm not having any work done here. I'm not staying at Shawn's house for any longer than I have to. James will eventually destroy it and I'm not paying for the damages. Now get me my release papers."

The doctor, who had only innocently offered to have the procedure done there, nodded and immediately bailed out of the room. Jeff gave Mark a scolding look. "Did you really have to do that to him? He was actually kind of nice."

Mark shrugged. He hated doctors. He always had and he alwasys would. "I—James, give me my wallet!"

"No," James replied. "I need candy." He grabbed Jeff by the hand. "Come on, let's get candy."

Mark growled as they left the room. He didn't have his crutches yet, so he couldn't chase after them. "You two are going to get it!" he yelled loudly. He sighed when he got no response. "Oh who am I kidding? They'll just like whatever I do to them. Fucking crazy bastards."


	16. Chapter 16

While Jeff and James took Mark to the hospital, the others all gathered in the living room to wait for an update on the Deadman's condition. Adam laughed at Cody and Ted for complaining about how hard Jeff had hit them. They were such wusses. But then he looked over at Evan and Morrison, who were talking really quietly by themselves. There was something about the way they were huddled together that made him frown. "What's going on with you two?" he asked. "You guys aren't planning something are you?"

Evan shook his head. "No. We were just going to ask Glenn a question."

"If it's a stupid question, I reserve the right to choke slam you," Glenn said without looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"Has James ever actually used the knife he carries around with him on someone?" Morrison blurted out.

Glenn dropped the newspaper and just stared at them. Matt sat up so fast that Adam was just about knocked out of his lap. The others all just stared at Morrison and Evan with wide eyes.

"James carries a knife with him?" Cody squeaked out. He looked at Ted. "We're lucky he didn't stab us just now!"

"When did you see this knife?" Matt asked.

Adam winced. He knew what that tone of voice meant. Jeff was going to get snatched away from James the second he came back from the hospital. "Baby I'm sure there's a good reason James has a knife," he said, hoping to calm his lover down.

All eyes turned to Glenn to hear that reason. The Big Red Machine just sat there and looked back at them before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Where is this question coming from?" he asked.

"He stabbed a spider with it earlier," Evan explained. "And it just…I don't know…raised some questions."

"Oh." Glenn eased back into his chair just a little bit. "Look, James has a few issues. He's carried a knife around with him for years. He's not going to stop now just because he's hanging out with us."

"That really didn't answer my question," Morrison pointed out.

"Yeah," Matt said. "Don't avoid the questions Glenn."

Glenn glared at Matt. "You know what? You may scare some of the other idiots in this room, but you don't scare me. So if you think for one second that you can take that bossy ass tone with me and get me to start talking about topics I know damn well to keep my mouth shut about topics that aren't actually my business."

"Jeff is my business," Matt snapped. "And since he's in that fucked up relationship with James, then James is my business."

"Baby calm down," Adam said gently. "You're blowing this way out of proportion."

That earned him a glare from Matt. "I'm blowing this out of proportion?" Matt said incredulously. "How can you say that? Who's side are you on anyway?"

Adam frowned. "What kind of question is that?"

"It's a valid question."

"No, you're trying to make me feel like the bad guy for not automatically taking your side. And that's not fair."

"That's not what I'm doing!"

The others all exchanged looks. "I think we should probably leave now," Shawn said quietly.

"But this is getting good," Ted protested.

Randy smacked them on the back of the head and then they all left. Adam got off of Matt's lap and went to a different couch. He knew Matt was just trying to look out for Jeff, but he also knew damn well that Jeff was dead set on staying with Mark and James. He could just tell it by the younger man's eyes. And if Matt kept using any and every excuse to try to break it up, things were just going to go horribly wrong.

Matt sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Adam I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not trying to make you feel like the bad guy. I just really don't know all that much about James and it makes me nervous to have Jeff around him."

"I know it does," Adam said. "And I know you're used to being able to intimidate any guy who dates Jeff, but you can't do that this time. James isn't going to back off and I doubt Jeff wants you and him fighting all the time."

"I know," Matt said reluctantly. He got up and joined Adam on the other couch. "I'll talk to him later. Maybe you're right; maybe I am blowing this out of proportion."

Adam rested his head on Matt's shoulder. He wasn't sure if Matt was saying this because he realized that it was the truth, or if he was just appeasing him. "Babe?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." Matt kissed the side of Adam's head. "You know, we are all alone in here."

Adam smirked. "And your point is?"

Matt smirked and gently kissed Adam's lips. Adam eagerly returned the kiss, moving so that he was straddling Matt. He shivered as he felt Matt's hands go under his shirt and rub his back while pulling him closer. His skin started to tingle and his senses started to go into overdrive.

Suddenly they were both being sprayed with a water bottle. "Not on my couch!" Shawn exclaimed. "Not there! John and I are the only two people with permission to do it there!"

Adam squeaked and jumped back, landing ass first on the floor. Matt let out a yell before pulling Adam up to his feet and taking him out of the room. The others were all standing on the other side of the door, laughing their asses off. "Oh yeah, I'm glad you all find this funny," Matt said. "You just wait until I decide to get all of you. Then we'll see who will be laughing."

The others all paused and looked at each other. "Jesus Matt, you don't need to get all scary," Phil muttered. "We were just playing around."

Adam wrapped his arms around Matt. "But you interrupted our fun. And we don't play that game, right Matt?"

"Right," Matt said with a nod. "We don't fuck around when it comes to fucking."

Adam's eyes lit up. "That's a badass saying. I think we should copyright it."

Matt nodded again. "I concur."

"Can we steal it?" Ted asked.

"No!" Matt and Adam said at the same time.

"Why not?"

"Because--"

"James, get me up to our bedroom right now!" they heard Mark yell. "And keep a hold of Jeff. I told both of you that I was handing out punishments as soon as we got here, so let's get to it!"

Adam's eyes widened and he looked at Matt. Matt was just standing there, looking completely shell shocked. Not sure what to do, Adam looked at the others. Nobody said anything for a really long time.

Finally, after way too long of an awkward silence, Jay decided to speak up. "Now that sounds like that's going be kinky."


	17. Chapter 17

Jeff whined as he wriggled around in James's grip. Mark was looking for something inside of a black box that he had never seen the contents of. "James come on," he said as he tried to pry the older man's fingers off of him. "You're supposed to be on my side. How could you turn against me like this?"

James shrugged. "Hey, it's your ass or mine, and I'm choosing you. It's nothing personal, but Mark needs an easier target in his crippled state."

Mark looked through the box a little more before pulling out a pair of handcuffs. "Strip and cuff him," he ordered as he tossed the metal restraints to James. "But don't do anything too funny Lawson. If you think you're getting off completely free then you are sorely mistaken."

James made a face at Mark. "Isn't the fact that I'm not obeying your every word punishment enough? Why do I need anything else done to me?"

Mark glared at James, who just rolled his eyes and acted like a throughly scolded teenager. Jeff's breathing quickened as he was stripped down to nothing and had his hands handcuffed behind his back. His senses were going into overdrive, so every time that he felt James's hands on him he let out a whimper.

"Jeffey if you're squirming already, then you're going to be in for one long ass night," James said in amusement. He nipped at Jeff's ear playfully. "We're just getting started with you."

Jeff let out a small but very happy moan. The thought of what the two of them could do to him while he was all helpless like this excited him.

Mark chuckled as he removed his own shirt. "Play with him a little Lawson. I'm still having trouble deciding which one to use."

James grinned wickedly. "With pleasure Marky."

Jeff squeaked as he was tossed on to the bed. Before he had much of a chance to even move around, James was on top of him and kissing his lips. He kissed back eagerly, gasping as he felt James's fingers pinch at his nipples. He made a noise of disappointment as James's mouth went away, but he became very happy once again when it started kissing its way down his body. "James," he gasped out as he felt the killer's tongue on his nipples. "Ooohh...mmmmph."

Mark grinned. "Now those are noises everyone can love." He pulled a blindfold out of the box and tied it around Jeff's eyes. "There we go. That looks really nice there."

Jeff whimpered. Now he couldn't see a damn thing on top of not being able to use his arms. He felt James's mouth moving lower and lower, and his cock began to twitch violently. He was just about to beg for a little relief when something cold and metal was placed on his nipples. He yelped just a little bit, but that turned into a groan as a tongue began circling the swollen nubs.

"I knew you stole my nipple clamps," James said grumpily. "You lying son of a bitch. You had me convinced that Connor had them."

There was the sound of someone getting hit. "Don't take that tone with me Lawson," Mark said. "If you don't think that I can't take you even with a bad knee, you better think again."

Jeff heard James say something, but the words didn't process through his brain. He felt somebody's fingertips dancing along his cock and it was driving him insane. "Touch me," he begged. "Please somebody touch me."

"Aw, he's adorable like this," James said. "I don't see why we can't just keep him like this from now on."

"I think Matt might come at us with a machine gun if we did that," Mark pointed out. "Now play with him damn it before I smack you with this."

"Don't be an ass Mark. It's not a nice look on you."

Jeff was about to yell at them for bickering when he was in such desperate need of being touched when he felt a mouth around his cock. He moaned and tried to thrust his hips up, but a pair of hands were holding him firmly down.

"James has a talented mouth on him when he decides to use it," Mark said in appreciation. "Of course, I don't get it much because most of the time he thinks that if he blows me that it's a sign that I dominate him and he doesn't like that. He likes to think that he's the one in control."

Jeff mewled in response. That was all he could manage to do at this point. James's mouth...fuck, he didn't know how to describe it. For someone who apparently did not like to give blowjobs, James was pretty fucking good at it. Jeff's breathing began to hitch and he could feel his orgasm building by the second. Fuck, he was so close...

Suddenly James's mouth was gone and a cold metal ring was attached to the base of Jeff's dick. Jeff whined in disappointment. He didn't need to see what was on him now to know what it was. "No," he whimpered. He tried to pull himself free from the handcuffs with absolutely no luck. "Not fair."

"Who said we were going to play fair?" James asked in amusement. "You're talking to the Deadman and a serial killer here love. We don't play fair."

Jeff whined desperately. He was thinking about telling Matt on them. This was so beyond mean that it wasn't funny. "Take it off," he begged. "I'll do anything, I swear."

"Anything?" Mark repeated. He sounded down right devious at the moment.

Jeff nodded meekly. It probably wasn't the smartest thing he could ever do, but he was such a horny mess that he didn't care about what he could be getting himself into.

"Okay then," Mark said. "Scream real pretty for us then. I want the whole neighborhood to hear you."

Jeff gasped as he felt a mouth back around his dick and a tongue up his ass. He couldn't tell who was doing which one to him and he didn't even care. He just moaned wildly, thrashing around as much as they would let him. "Mark! The ring...please...take it off....James!"

They didn't listen to him. They kept toying with him, one mouth sucking harder and the other's tongue probing deeper and deeper into him. Just when he thought he was going to go insane, the mouth and tongue were taken away. He whined in disappointment, but froze when he heard a familiar buzzing sound. He swallowed heavily and didn't even get a chance to say anything. One vibrator went in him and the other was pressed up against his aching dick. They were both turned on at full speed and he really lost it then.

"AHHHH! PLEASE! I CAN'T...I....JUST FUCK ME ALREADY!"

James burst out laughing and Jeff whimpered as the vibrators were taken away. He felt himself being lifted up into the air and was impaled with a dick in one hard motion. Just seconds later, the second dick was added, making Jeff howled as he was fucked for all he was worth. "The ring!" he gasped out. "Off! Get it off!"

Someone yanked it off roughly and jerked his dick just once before he came so fucking hard. The strength went out of his body and he could only let himself continued to get fucked until Mark and James spilled their own releases deep inside of him.

"Jesus," Jeff said as he was set back on the bed. He blinked several times after the blindfold came off, finding himself snuggled in between James and Mark. "That punishment was fucking amazing," he said weakly.

"Yeah," Mark said. "Too bad that James's won't be so fun for him."

James glared at Mark. "Oh fuck, what did you do?"

Mark just laughed evilly. Jeff wished he could feel more concerned for James, but he couldn't. He was too busy passing out from exhaustion.


	18. Chapter 18

The last night everyone was supposed to be staying at Shawn's, they decided to all go out to a bar. James wasn't exactly sure if Mark should actually be out and about with his knee, but Mark insisted that a little drinking wouldn't hurt anything. Then Glenn thoughfully pointed out that it would if Mark got so drunk that he lost his crutches and then fell down like an old man. That got Glenn one good smack on the back of the head with said crutches by said "old" man and James laughed hysterically until they actually got to the bar.

"Oooh, there's a mechanical bull!" Jeff exclaimed. He started jumping up and down happily. "I wanna ride it! I wanna ride it!"

Shawn shook his head. He was holding on to John's hand tightly and trying to lead them all to a group of tables in the back of the place. "That thing is freaking dangerous. John and I just about broke our necks the last time we rode it."

James grinned mischieviously. "Oh come on Shawn, Jeff rides me and Mark all the time. I'm sure that bull is nothing compared to us."

Jeff and Shawn blushed furiously while John, Randy and Phil laughed loudly. Meanwhile, Matt shot James an absolute death glare. James responded to that by smirking and pulling Jeff closer to him. "Tell them baby," he whispered in Jeff's ear. "Tell them how you ride our cocks until you damn near collapse."

Jeff got even redder than before. "Stop it!" he pleaded. "I can't tell them that!"

Phil snorted. "It's okay Jeff. The screams coming from your guys's room every single night tells the story just fine."

They got to the tables and Mark immediately sat down. "I'll fucking be glad to get my knee all fixed up," he grumbled as he took his cell phone out. "I'm tired of having to use the crutches all the time."

Jay frowned. "Who are you calling? Everyone is already here."

"I'm texting someone you don't know."

"Do I know them?" James asked.

"Can't tell ya."

"Why not?"

"Cuz that would be telling."

James grunted. He didn't like that answer. He tried to take the cell phone from Mark but got whacked in the face for his troubles. "Oh come on!" he whined. "Give it up already!"

"No," Mark refused.

"I'm going to get us some beers," Morrison announced. "Somebody come with me."

"We'll go," Ted and Cody volunteered.

"Try and see if they have any Pepsi here," Phil said.

"And what if they don't?" Morrison asked.

"Then just get me some water."

James stared at Phil in disbelief. "Seriously dude? Pepsi or water? We're in a bar!"

"Honey he doesn't drink," Jeff reminded him.

"I'm straightedge," Phil added in.

"Although ironically, he's not straight or me," Adam said happily. He sat down on Matt's lap and wiggled around a little bit.

Matt's eyes clouded over. "Don't you start," he warned the blonde.

"Yeah really," Glenn agreed. "All of you sick bastards need to keep your PDA in check."

"You're just jealous because Teddy won't suck your dick," James announced.

"Okay, let's change the subject," Randy said quickly. "I don't need to hear about Ted and Glenn's fellatio."

"I agree," Jay said. He took a beer from Morrison, Ted and Cody as they came back. "James, could I ask you something?"

James, who was still trying to find out who the fuck Mark was texting, looked at Captain Charisma in surprise. "It depends on what it is."

"Well uh...I was just wondering um...what you did for a living since you don't like wrestle and you have yet to talk about any kind of job you actually have." Jay started losing his courage about halfway through the question.

James grinned. He supposed there was no harm in telling them the truth. "Technically I own a company that produces pornos. I don't actually do all that much work though. I just make other people do it and then I collect the checks."

Legacy was all looking at him like he was God or something. "Will you marry me?" Cody blurted out.

Jeff whined and pulled James closer to him. "He's mine and Mark's! Get your own!"

Matt studied James carefully. "Porn huh? How did you get into that business?"

"Inherited it actually," James replied. He made sure to keep looking at Matt right in his eyes. Breaking eye contact would show intimidation, and that was one thing he didn't feel at all. "Father ran off with a slut when I was fourteen and I just took over his position. The bills had to get paid somehow."

"Technically though, you can't inherit something unless the person you get it from dies."

"Technicalities are not my specialty Matt. I just do what I got to do and that's that." James looked at Mark again. "Seriously, who the fuck are you texting?"

Mark shut his phone and smirked. "Remeber what Connor said he wanted for Christmas?"

"Yeah, but what's that--" James stopped and his eyes widened. "You did not tell him he could have it."

"Actually I told him that you said he could have it." Mark looked positively gleeful at the moment. "You're his daddy after all."

"You have a kid?" pretty much everyone else said in shock.

James clenched his fists tightly. "What the fuck Mark? Seriously, why would you say that? You know he's going to throw a fit when he finds out that he can't actually have what he wants."

Mark shrugged. "That's your problem now James, cuz here he comes."

James spun around in his chair and saw both Connor and Cooper coming towards them. "Boys wait--"

"Mine!" Connor shouted happily. He literally yanked Adam out of Matt's arms and held on to him like a teddy bear.

"What the hell?" Matt said angrily.

Adam looked confused. "Wait, I'M the present?"

Cooper shook his head. "I can't believe you're letting this happen," he told James. "You know he's just going to break the bitch."

"Hey!"Adam said defensively. "I'm not a bitch."

James sighed. "I never said Connor could have him. Mark lied to you."

Cooper frowned and glared at Mark. "Bastard! What the hell were you trying to do?"

Mark laughed. "Get James in trouble with Connor."

Connor started petting Adam on the head like he was a puppy. "I like," he announced. "So pretty."

"Matt..." Adam said uneasily.

Matt got up to his feet and tried to pull Adam away from Connor. "He's not a dog," he informed the insane boy. "Now let him go."

"No!" Connor refused. "He's my present!"

"He is not! He's my boyfriend!"

"Look what you started Mark!" Jeff said in a panicked voice.

Mark just chuckled. He was the only one who was amused by this situation.

James shook his head and pried Adam out of Connor's hand. "You can't have him Connor. We've been over this before."

Connor looked at him with hurt eyes. "But you said--"

"No, Mark said that I said. That doesn't mean a damn thing unless you hear it come out of my mouth."

"But I want him!" Connor whined. He was two seconds away from throwing a full blown tantrum. "I want him I want him I want him!"

"I said no," James said, very aware of the attention they were starting to attract. It felt like the entire bar had stopped just to stare at them.

Connor glared at James defiantely before opening his mouth and letting out a scream that would make a toddler in their terrible twos jealous. Almost everyone covered their ears up so they didn't go deaf. James was one of the few exceptions. He put his hand over Connor's mouth and gave him a good shake. "Stop that!" he yelled. "Right now! You know I hate it when you do that!"

Connor whined and sagged his shoulders in defeat. "I don't like you anymore," he declared. "Why won't you let me have him?"

"Because he's not a toy," James replied. With his eyes, he tried to tell Connor the message that Adam was not a victim of theirs that could be played with before an ugly and brual death.

Connor didn't seem to get it though. He looked over at Adam and saw him hiding behind Matt. "It's you," he said, pointing to the older Hardy. "You have my toy. I kill for him."

Mark's eyes widened. "Oh fuck, Connor--"

"You should have thought about this before you pulled this stunt," Cooper told Mark.

"You're not going to do anything Connor," James said. He started trying to pull Connor away so they could talk about this privately. "Come on, let's just--"

"You kill him then?" Connor asked. "You should. You have much more experi--"

James got his hand over Connor's mouth but it wasn't quite in time. He glared at his youngest boy before looking at the others. Mark and Glenn looked exasperated at Connor. Jeff looked horrified that Connor had blurted that out. Almost everyone else looked confused and uneasy except for Matt. The darker haired Hardy was staring at James carefully, his eyes clearly saying that if James even tried to say that Connor had been joking, he wouldn't be believed. _Damn it to fucking hell. Connor's big mouth did it again. I should either just sew the thing shut or cut out his tongue. It would save me a whole lot trouble._


	19. Chapter 19

"Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid--"

Mark grabbed the newspaper out of Cooper's hands and tossed it aside. "I know I fucked up okay? You don't need to keep hitting me like that."

"Oh yes I do," Cooper insisted. Now he was just trying to hit Mark on the head with his bare hands. "What the fuck were you thinking? You're supposed to be the smart one out of you and Dad! What the fuck were you thinking about pulling that stunt at the bar?"

"Hey, I was trying to give James a taste of his own medicine!" Mark said defensively. "He would have done the same thing if he were trying to get back at me." He pointed to Connor. "What about him? He should get some of the blame in this! He opened his big mouth!"

"Don't you dare put the blame on him!" Cooper yelled. "He--"

"Enough!" James shouted. He glared at all of them. They were in Shawn's backyard now, and they all knew there was gonna be trouble coming. "I don't want to hear this right now."

Mark sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that he had fucked things up royally. That whole situation at the bar wasn't meant to go the way it did, but shit had just gone wrong. Now unless Jeff could do some serious damage control, at least a tiny bit of James's history was exposed. And knowing Matt for as long as Mark had, he knew the older Hardy would capitalize on that little bit and look for more stuff about shit that didn't concern him.

"Why don't you guys just tell them?" Connor asked innocently. "You said Jeff accepted it."

"Jeff is the exception," Mark explained. "I don't see the others taking the news like he did."

"Matt definitely won't," James muttered. He was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. "He's had it out for me since the beginning. No matter what Jeff says now, Matt's gonna suspect me of really being up to no good."

"So we kill him," Connor concluded. "Make the problem go away."

Glenn gave Connor an exasperated look. "Do you even comprehend the fact that it was that kind of talk that led Jeff to be pulled into the Spanish Inquisition in there?"

Connor tilted his head to the side. "The Spanish what?"

Mark shook his head. Despite the claims otherwise, they knew Jeff was being interrogated in the house. Obviously Matt had realized that he wouldn't get anything out of Mark and James, so the focus was all on Jeff now. Mark wanted to go in there and stop it, but Jeff had absolutely insisted that he could handle this by himself. Hell, he insisted on it because he thought a fight would start if Matt and James were in the same room. Mark knew Jeff was right, but he couldn't help but worry about the kid. He knew he would have to go in there soon and help sort shit out. _I helped make this mess and I'll help clean it up,_ Mark thought to himself as he walked closer to the door so he could eavesdrop on the conversation going on inside. From the sounds of it, Matt and Jeff were really starting to get into it. _Oh boy, this might get ugly._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How exactly do you know that James is no good?" Jeff demanded to know. He put his hands on his hips and stared at the people around him. "Is it because of what Connor said? Because in case you weren't listening to the conversation prior to his statement, he's obviously not playing with all fifty two cards."

"And we have one point for Jeff," Randy said under his breath.

Matt shook his head. "James looked like he just about had a heart attack when Connor said that. Now why would he look like that if he didn't have something to hide?"

"But Matt won't let him take the lead and scores a point of his own," Ted said, playing along with Randy.

"He helped Mark kill Dave, and nobody is supposed to know that but us. If Connor would have said who he was actually talking about and someone overheard that, there could have been serious consequences." Jeff was actually relieved to bring up Dave for once, mainly because it was an example he could make work to his advantage.

Matt folded his arms over his chest. "I still think there's more to him than you want to tell me. Something is not right about him."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I can sense it."

"Oh that's bullshit!" Jeff said angrily. He looked at the others. "Do any of you sense something wrong with James?"

The others all exchanged nervous looks. "Uh....yeah," Jay said slowly. "I hate to say it, but the guy is kind of weird."

"And unbalanced," Phil chimed in. He looked at Jeff apologetically. "I know this isn't what you want to hear and while I'm not here to be an ass about this shit like Matt is, I do think he's keeping secrets."

Jeff gulped. Fuck, he was not getting the support he needed. Maybe he shouldn't have sent James and Mark outside. He had done that because he knew things would turn into more of a fight if they were in there. "James has a few issues, okay?" he admitted. "But they're his own personal things and he doesn't want all of you in his business. Can't you guys just trust me to know what I'm dealing with and taking care of it myself?"

"Hey I trust you," Cody said. "I mean, I like James. He creeps me out a little, but Mark and Glenn have always done that, so it's nothing new for me."

"I trust you too," Adam said. He looked up at Matt. "Honestly, you should be more worried about Connor than James. The only things James has hurt is Dave and a spider." He looked at Morrison and Evan. "It was a spider, wasn't it?"

Morrison nodded. "James stabbed the spider. He destroyed it so it could not harm the world around it."

"Okay then." Adam turned back to face Matt. "He destroyed two evil beings. Connor wants to kidnap me and make me his love slave. I think that issue should be addressed before you do something rash and impulsive that's just going to upset Jeff more."

Matt gave Adam an irritated look before shaking his head. "Look, I get people have issues. And while I sense James has those, that's really not my problem. My problem is, I sense something about him. He's dangerous. You can stand there and deny it as much as you want, but I can tell by your eyes that I'm a lot closer to the truth than you want me to be."

Jeff rolled his eyes. He was trying his best to hide his nervousness. Matt was not going to back down now. Matt knew he was getting on the right trail, which was a bad thing. "You are unbelievable Matthew. Is this a jealousy thing? Are you mad that I'm not clinging to you like someone else here?"

Adam frowned. "Hey, don't talk about me like that! I'm trying to get him to back off you a little bit."

Matt walked over to Jeff and got so close that he could whisper without anyone else really hearing him. "Jeff...has James ever killed someone else besides Dave?"

_Oh fuck_, Jeff thought to himself. Trying to hide his panic, he did his best to mask it with anger. He punched Matt in the face and then stormed off, meeting Mark who was just coming back in.

"You guys are done here," Mark announced. "We're not going through this again. If someone here still has a problem with James, then you'll have to take it up with me. Understand?"

Jeff didn't stick around to see if the others all agreed with what Mark said. He just went outside and went over to James, who was talking to Glenn by the tree. Connor was actually up in the tree and Cooper appeared to be trying to get him down from there. Without saying a word, he wrapped his arms around James and held on tightly.

"Oh, uh...hi," James said in confusion. "Did it not go well?"

"Matt's gonna figure it out," Jeff said quietly. "And he's gonna try to take me away from you."

James snorted. "Let him try it. It's not gonna happen."

Jeff looked up at James. "Don't--"

"I won't do anything homicidal. To him anyway. But if he sends cops after me, they're dead meat and he's getting maimed." James's tone showed that he was not compromising on that.

Jeff just sighed and rested his head up against James. He knew that Matt was right in thinking that James was dangerous because that was true. Jeff also knew that James would hurt other people in the future and that he should hate James for what he was. Or did he think that because that's what Matt would want him to think? Fuck, he didn't know. He just knew that he had fallen for James and he was determined to stay with both him and Mark. And if Matt didn't like that, then that was his problem. Jeff was done caring.

That's what Jeff told himself anyway. Actually convicing himself about that last part was harder than he wanted it to be.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, everyone had to leave Shawn and John's place. Adam and Matt went back home to Cameron since they were still technically on the vacation Vince gave them (that would be ending soon though), Jeff went to Houstan with Mark, Cooper, Connor and James so he could be there for Mark's surgery and the others all went back on the road. Adam knew that the latest argument about James had really divided the Hardy brothers. Jeff absolutely refused to speak to Matt unless he apologized, which Matt refused to do. In fact, Matt tried to watch James even closer during that last night, which pissed James off, which pissed Mark and Jeff off, which was something Matt didn't seem to give a shit about. Adam tried to be the voice of reason for everyone, but he went completely ignored. It was pretty fucking frustrating.

Still, Adam hoped that with time to cool down, Matt and Jeff would go back to getting along. He didn't like it when they fought. Matt wasn't the most pleasant person to get along with when he was pissed off at Jeff. "What do you think Lucas?" Adam asked, picking the small dog up and hugging him tightly. "Daddy and Uncle Jeff are blowing this whole thing completely out of proportion. They should just kiss and make up. Well, maybe not kiss cuz Matt is mine and Jeff should keep his hands off of him because I don't know where James and Mark have been. But that is beside the point."

Lucas's ears perked up as he licked Adam's face. Adam laughed and carried walked into the kitchen. He could see Matt talking on his phone out by the hot tub. Adam almost went out to join him when he noticed that the phone book was on the table and it had a wooden spoon stuck inside of it. He opened the book up and looked at the page that had been saved. On the top of the page was a highlighted number. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was the number to a private investigator. _What the hell is Matt....oh no. Do not tell me he's doing what I think he's doing!_

Matt came back in at that moment. He saw Adam looking at the phone book and sighed. "I thought you were watching TV," he said quietly.

"You called a private investigator to look into James." Adam didn't say that as a question. He didn't need to. He already knew the answer.

"Baby please don't make a big deal out of this. There is just something about James that irks me and I just want to see if there's anything--"

"That what? Gives you an excuse to try to control Jeff some more?" Adam set Lucas down on the floor and turned to face Matt completely. "This is crazy Matt. Do you have any idea how badly Jeff is going to freak out if he finds out you're having a P.I. investigate one of his boyfriends."

Matt winced. "James is not his boyfriend," he said stubbornly. "James is just--"

"James is his boyfriend," Adam interrupted, trying to get it through Matt's thick head. "James is not going anywhere any time soon."

"Which is all the more reason to check into James's past," Matt insisted. "I'm telling you Adam, there is something not right about him."

Adam sighed. Matt wasn't going to give this up. "And what about Jeff? How is he ever going to trust you again if he finds out about this?"

"I'm just looking out for him."

"You're abusing your older brother right of being protective."

"Abuse!"

"What?"

"What if James has a history of spousal abuse?" Matt said, suddenly estatic that he had a new idea to cling on to. "He could be hitting Jeff right now and--"

"Do you think for a second that Mark would let that happen?" Adam asked, honestly glad that nobody else was there to hear Matt talking so crazy. "And besides from that, James hasn't shown any kinds of signs of being abusive."

Matt snorted. "Oh come on Adam. You of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving. Did you ever think Dave would beat you like he did before you started dating him?"

Adam glared at Matt, hardly believing that his boyfriend would even go there. Matt knew damn well that Dave was not to be mentioned unless it was absolutely necessary, yet the person who had broken him and nearly killed him had just been thrown back into his face. Without saying a word he stormed out of the kitchen and went right out the front door. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he began walking down the empty road. He had no idea about where he was going. He just knew that he had to get the fuck away from Matt right at the moment.

About thirty seconds later, Matt came running after him. "Adam wait!" he yelled, catching up to Adam before he got too far. "Just wait a second."

"Leave me alone," Adam snapped, absolutely furious with Matt at the moment. "I don't want to talk to you."

Matt got in front of Adam and grabbed his arms so he couldn't get away. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have brought Dave up like that. That was fucked up and wrong of me."

"You're damn right it was," Adam agreed. He tried to slip out of Matt's grip. "Now let me go damn it! I'm still mad at you!"

Matt refused to let go though. He wasn't hurting Adam in the way he was holding him, but the grip was annoyingly tight. "Baby listen to me," he begged, trying to make Adam hold eye contact with him. "I really am sorry. That wasn't fair of me to say. But I would rather blow this whole thing out of proportion and look like a fool and have to beg for forgiveness than take any chances, okay? Can you at least understand that?"

Adam sighed. "I understand it." He managed to take a step back so he could put some distance between himself and Matt. "But it still feels fucked up. And I don't want any part of it." He walked around Matt and started going the way he had been going before. "I'll be back later."

Even as he kept walking though, he felt Matt's eyes on him. He knew Matt was just trying to look after Jeff, but this was going a bit too far. Jeff was going to go completely apeshit when he found out. _Should I tell him? Would that be the right thing to do? Hmm...no, I can't do that to Matt. Jeff will fucking kill him and even though I'm mad at him right now, I want my Matt alive._ With that settled, Adam kept on walking. Hopefully Matt would either call off the P.I. or Jeff just never found out about it. Those were the only ways that this would end well at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So tomorrow's the big day," Jeff said, snuggling up against Mark and resting his head on the Deadman's chest. "Are you nervous?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Jeff, it's just knee surgery. I don't have anything to be nervous about."

"Sure you do. What if you get put to sleep and don't ever wake up again? What if you die? What if they aren't able to fix your knee? What if they put something in you that's not supposed to go in there? What if--"

Mark silenced Jeff with a kiss. Jeff eagerly wrapped his arms around the older man's neck and kissed back hungrily. Mark tasted so damn good that he felt like he could never get enough of him.

"Hey, the doctor said no liquids after midnight Marky," James said. He came into the room sucking on a giant popsicle. "That includes Jeff's spit."

Mark broke away from Jeff and glared at James. "It does not and you damn well know it!"

James smirked before sucking on the popsicle again, making obscenely loud slurrping noises as he did so. Jeff watched James in great interest. This was usually a stunt he pulled so it was a little strange seeing someone else do it. It was also very arousing though. That mouth....Jeff shivered. He knew exactly what James's mouth felt like and he envied the frozen treat.

Mark groaned. "James, if you're going to do that then you need to leave."

James tried to look innocent. "What's wrong Marky?"

"Oh don't play innocent with me. I know you're just trying to start something."

"Marky! I'm offended! In all the years you've known me--"

"Dad shut up," Cooper said as he and Connor barged into the room. "We know what you're up to. And Connor and I don't want to hear it."

James glared at his kids. "Who said I cared about what you wanted to hear?"

Connor and Cooper exchanged looks before tackling James down to the ground. James let out a yell and soon there was a full fledged wrestling match going on in front of the bed.

Jeff looked at Mark. "Do they do this a lot?"

Mark nodded. "Oh yeah." He put his arm around Jeff. "Welcome to America's most dysfunctional family. The Osbournes don't have shit on us."


	21. Chapter 21

Mark was scheduled to go into surgery at eleven the next morning. The surgeon didn't even get to the hospital until 12:15 and it was another twenty minutes before Mark got wheeled off. This was part of the reason Jeff greatly disliked doctors. They took forever and always made it so that he was stuck in the hospital for an insanely long time. "I'm bored," he announced. He looked down at his nail polish. "And I'm hungry."

James raised his eyebrows. "I fed you enough pancakes to make Marky himself explode. How are you hungry again?"

Jeff shrugged. "I dunno. I just am. Feed me James, feed me!"

Connor glared at Jeff. "Hey! Daddy feeds me first! You already hogged all the pancakes!"

Cooper rolled his eyes. "You ate even more pancakes than Jeff did, you fucking pig."

"Daddy! Cooper called me a pig!"

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" James asked.

"Destroy him!" Connor ordered. "Make it so I'm an only child again!"

"I'm the older one dipshit," Cooper said in exasperation. "You never were the only child."

Connor growled and smacked Cooper across the face. Cooper got pissed and knocked Connor out of his chair before pouncing on him. Within seconds the two of them were rolling around on the floor, attempting to strangle each other. Jeff giggled as he watched them. "Do they do this a lot?" he asked.

James nodded. "They do it all the time...okay, that sounded more than a little wrong." Then he shrugged. "But it's the truth."

Jeff spun around in his chair so fast that he about fell out of it. "What?" he said in disbelief.

James just grinned. "You heard me."

Jeff blinked a few times, trying to process that. "Your boys...they do it? It as in sex?"

"That's usually what "it" is when it's used in this context," James confirmed.

"But...doesn't that kind of weird you out?"

"Jeff, I fucked my own twin sister and fathered Connor with her! I'm the last person who's going to get weirded out by a sexual relationship between my boys." He looked down at the boys as the fight nearly got right on top of his feet. "At least I don't have to worry about one of them getting pregnant."

Connor kicked Cooper off of him and stood up. "Why? What if I want to get pregnant?"

James shook his head. "We've been over this a thousand times Connor. You can't get pregnant because you are a boy."

"Yes I can!" Connor insisted.

"No you can't," James replied.

Connor growled and looked at Cooper. "You! Impregnante me now!"

Cooper looked like a dear caught in the headlights. "Connor I told you that I don't want--"

"Silence! I kill you if you do not give me baby!"

Jeff doubled over because he started laughing so hard. Connor looked and sounded completely serious about this baby thing and poor Cooper looked scared to death.

Connor glared at Jeff. "Are you mocking me? I kill you!"

Jeff stopped laughing and whimpered.

"Aw, I'm just kidding," Connor said quickly. "I won't kill you." He sat down on Jeff's lap. "Can I show you something?"

"Sure," Jeff said, amused by Connor's childlike demeanor. People always said he was childish, but Connor not only took that cake, but he had two of them. _Wait...that didn't make any sense. Hmmm....oh well, it doesn't have to. I'm Jeff Hardy. What I say or think doesn't have to make sense._

Connor reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of a little boy with the brightest red hair Jeff had ever seen. "This is Cooper," he said happily. "Wasn't he cute?"

"Connor!" Cooper yelled angrily, immediately trying to snatch the picture out of his younger brother's hands. "You promised to burn that!"

"Wow, it looked like your head was on fire," Jeff said in amazement. He looked up at Cooper now. The younger man's hair was dyed dark brown. "Is it still that way?"

"It will be if he ever stops dyeing it," James said with a chuckle. "It's how we know he's biologically Mark's. My dear old Deadman gave him that head of hair."

Connor giggled. "His head isn't the only thing with red hair. You should see his--"

Cooper punched Connor on the side of the head and took the picture. "You just shut your damn mouth," he ordered. "Or I will end your unholy existence."

Connor started to say something in response to that, but a loud growling noise caused them all to look at James. James glanced down at his stomach in amusement. "I guess it's time to go out and eat lunch," he announced.

"But Mark--" Jeff started to object.

"Isn't going to be out of surgery for another couple of hours," James pointed out. "We've got time to go out and eat a few hamburgers."

Cooper and Connor didn't have any objections, so they left the hospital and piled into the back of James's car. Just as James was about to get into the driver's seat, he looked back and went completely still. Jeff frowned and looked back too. "James?" he said cautiously. "What's wrong?"

James got into the car and shut the door. "We're being watched," he told them.

"What?" Cooper said in disbelief. "By who?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but if I was to take a wild guess right now, I'd say a P.I."

"A P.I.?" Jeff said nervously.

"A private investigator," James clarified.

"I know what a P.I. is," Jeff said in exasperation. But why would one--"

"Matt," James said as he drove away from the hospital.

"What does Matt have to do with this?"

"I think he hired the guy."

Jeff stared at James in shock. He was actually offended that James would even think that Matt would do something like that. "Look, I know Matty hasn't really taken my relationship with you and Mark that well, but he wouldn't hire private investigators to invade your privacy. That's taking it too far, even for him."

James shook his head. "Believe what you want to believe Jeff, but I'm telling you right now that I know in my gut--"

"Well your gut is wrong then!" Jeff shouted. "Okay? Matt wouldn't do that to me!"

"But he's not doing it to you," Cooper said. "He's doing it to Dad."

Jeff looked back at Cooper and Connor. One look at them told him that they were siding with their dad. Feeling frustrated and outnumbered, he folded his arms over his chest and stared out the window. He didn't want to believe that Matt would go this far. This would be too extreme, even for him. James tried to change the subject and make small talk, but Jeff refused to play along. He was mad at James for even saying that Matt would do something like that and also kind of afraid of the chance that James was right. _He can't be right, _Jeff told himself. _He can't be. He's just being paranoid because he knows that Matt doesn't like him. Yeah, that has to be it. That's a perfectly reasonable explanation._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

James sighed and let Jeff keep ignoring him. If Jeff wanted to be in denial about his brother's actions, then that was fine. James didn't need Jeff to believe him. That wasn't what was important. What was important was getting a hold of the investigator himself and finding out if there was anyone else either following him or digging into his past. Oh, and he wanted to find out if it really was Matt behind this. James was nintey nine point nine percent sure that Matt had done it, but he would double check just to make sure.

_Oh Matty, you really shouldn't have done this. Once I can confirm you're behind it, you are officially going to be on my shit list. And that my friend, is a place you don't want to be._


	22. Chapter 22

Jeff's eyes got really big as he looked at the amount of food that was now on the table. "Holy shit...are you guys really going to eat all that?" he asked.

James nodded. He had to chuckle at the look on Jeff's face. It was absolutely hilarious.

"But...that's enough to feed a small army!"

James thought about Jeff's statement before nodding in agreement. On the two tables (they had to have two because there wasn't enough room for all the food to fit on one), there were twenty hamburgers, sixteen chicken sandwiches, nine fish sandwiches, twelve orders of chicken nuggets, seventeen orders of french fries, nine orders of onion rings, six large Cokes and one toy from the kid's meal (Connor had begged and pleaded with the lady who took their order until she had given in and given him one). And the scary thing was, all that didn't even include the food Jeff had gotten. "Yeah...it's a good thing we get plenty of exercise or we would be horribly obese."

Connor giggled. "Mark says we have bottomless pits for stomachs." He nudged Cooper's arm. "Remember that one time he went grocery shopping with us?"

Cooper nodded. "He just about had a heart attack when the cashier told us we spent over a thousand dollars. It was almost the best day of my life."

Jeff frowned. "Wait, why's that?"

"Well...he just about had a heart attack, which made it a good day. But since he didn't drop dead, it didn't make it the best day of my life."

James rolled his eyes. He had known that comment had been coming. "Ignore him," he told Jeff when he saw the shocked look on the younger man's face. "It's all that you can really do when he says that crap."

"Fuck you Daddy," Cooper said, taking a huge chunk out of his chicken sandwich.

"No thanks. I've got Mark and Jeff and I don't need you too," James replied.

Cooper made a face. "You're disgusting. That's not even what I meant."

"Well if you don't want to hear that kind of stuff, you shouldn't set me up for it," James told him. He practically inhale his first hamburger right after that sentence. "You make it too easy for me to resist."

Cooper rolled his eyes and went back to concentrating on his food. James stuffed a bunch of onion rings in his mouth while trying to keep one eye out the window and one eye on Connor. He knew the P.I. was still watching them and that pissed him off. He was going to have to end that bullshit before it got too far, but first, he had one other issue to deal with. "Connor, how many times do I have to tell you that you need to eat before you play with the toy?" he asked. He went through this with his son every time they went somewhere that gave away kid's meal toys and Connor usually made sure to be as difficult as possible about it.

Connor looked at him with wide, innocent eyes (well...as innocent as any Lawson could ever manage...which actually wasn't that innocent at all). "But Daddy, SpongeBob wants my attention now!" he objected. "I have to give it to him."

Cooper snorted, obviously thinking of something dirty because of the way Connor said that last part.

James ignored Cooper and stared at Connor. "Your food is getting cold," he pointed out. "And when it gets too cold, you won't eat it."

"So I no eat then," Connor concluded.

"No, you eat now," James corrected him. "Because you're not getting ice cream later if you don't."

Connor whined and fussed, which made Cooper smack him. "Eat damn it," Cooper ordered. "Or I won't let you play with my computer later."

Connor fussed a little more, but he began eating. Jeff leaned over closer to James so he could whisper in his ear. "He's like a little boy," he said, obviously referring to Connor.

"You'll get used to it," James whispered back. "Believe me, it's weirder the rare occassion he acts his age."

"I heard that," Connor announced.

"Yeah, but what are you going to do about it?" James replied.

Connor just giggled and started eating again. James shook his head and ate some more. He was acting as casually as possible, but knowing that he was being watched began to really irritate him. And after awhile, it became too much for him to take. He had to do something and he had to do it now. "I'll be right back," he said as he got up out of his chair.

Jeff looked up at him. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Bathroom," James lied. He looked over at Cooper and gave his oldest son a look that clearly said "distract Jeff". Cooper got the message and quickly roped Jeff into a conversation about wrestling. James walked over to where the bathrooms were, but instead of going into the men's one, he went through the door that said "Employees Only". He quickly made his way through there, ignoring the annoying employees that told him he couldn't be back there. Flipping all of them off, he went out the back door and went across the street. Then he walked his way around so he could sneak up on the P.I's car from behind. The P.I. was so busy watching what was going on inside the restaraunt that he didn't see James until the psycho had the car door open and was pulling him out and slamming him up against the hood.

"You know, it's very rude to spy on people," James growled. He really didn't give a damn that he was doing this in broad daylight, where everyone could see them. What he cared about was being left the fuck alone.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the P.I. said immediately. He was trying to get out of James's grip. "You--"

"Quit denying it!" James snapped, throttling the guy just enough scare the guy a little bit. "I know your kind when I see them." He loosened his grip just enough so he wasn't hurting the guy, but tight enough to where the guy couldn't get free. "Now, you're going to have one chance to tell the truth and save your skin. If you lie to me, you're not going to make it home tonight. Do you understand me?"

The P.I. nodded.

"Good. Were you spying on me and my family?"

"Yes."

"You are a private investigator then?"

"Yes."

"Are there more of you?"

"There's another one digging into your past. He--"

James growled, not happy at all to hear that. "Who hired you?" he asked.

"I can't--"

"You will, or I'm going to count that as a lie," James snarled. He needed to hurry and get answers or he was going to get interrupted by some stupid concerned citizen.

"M-M-Matt Hardy," the P.I. stammered. "It was Matt Hardy."

James sighed. He figured as much. "You listen to me and you listen to me good. You and your little friend are going to back off. You're going to call Matt and regretfully inform him that you cannot do the job he hired you to do. I don't give a shit what reason you give him, but if it is not done as soon as possible, the rest of your short, pitiful life will be made a living hell. Do you understand me?"

The P.I. nodded.

"Good." James let the guy go. "Now get the fuck out of here before I do something that'll make you regret the day you were born."

The P.I., shaking like a leaf, got into his car and drove away. James watched him go, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails left marks in the palms of his hands. While Mark would be proud of him actually handling that in a non-homicidal way, he did not share those same feelings. In fact, now he felt the need to kill someone else just to make himself feel better. _I can't though...fucking have to get back to the hospital for Mark. Later though. I'll make damn sure to get me some bloodshed later tonight._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Matt sighed as he watched Adam look in the fridge. His lover was still upset with him over their earlier fight, and that made him upset too. Upsetting Adam had never been his plan. That was the last thing in the world that he had wanted. Taking a deep breath, he walked across the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Adam from behind. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, kissing his boyfriend on the neck. "I shouldn't have said that thing about Dave. It was stupid and thoughtless and I'll get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness if I have to."

The corners of Adam's mouth twitched. "You'll get on your knees?" he said, sounding kind of turned on at the thought.

"Uh huh," Matt confirmed. "I'll do anything to show you how sorry I am."

"How about you call those P.I. guys off James first?" Adam suggested. He turned around to face Matt. "I know you have the right to not trust him, but for the sake of your and Jeff's relationship--"

"James spotted the one and threatened him until he agreed to back off," Matt admitted. He had received the phone call about a couple of hours ago and it worried him more than a little. James had gotten a little rough with the P.I. and the guy made it sound that he had been lucky to leave with all of his body parts in place. "It should be only a matter of time before Jeff gets told and then I'm going to get it."

Adam gave him a sympathetic look. "He'll probably forgive you eventually...maybe it'll even be before you croak!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "That's reassuring. Thanks honey." He said that very sarcastically.

Adam gave him a little kiss on the lips. "Anytime." He played with Matt's dark locks just a little bit. "Now about that whole you getting on your knees thing..."

The phone rang, interrupting Matt's reply to that. "Shit," Matt muttered. "That probably will be Jeff."

"Just start apologizing immediately if it is," Adam suggested. "And agree with every name he calls you. That always takes the wind out of his sails."

"Good thinking," Matt said. He gave Adam a kiss before grabbing the phone. "Hello?" he said, holding the phone a little bit away from his ears in case Jeff started yelling right off the bat.

"You know Hardy, you are really starting to get annoying." It was James himself and he didn't sound very happy. "If it weren't for Mark needing me and the fact I haven't told Jeff about that P.I. stunt, I would be on my way to North Carolina so we could have this conversation face to face."

Matt was shocked as hell. "You didn't tell Jeff?" he said in disbelief.

"No, I didn't. Not yet. When I mentioned the P.I. following us before I made the bastard back off and expressed my belief that you were behind it, he got very upset with me. And if I told him right now that it really was you, it would hurt him. And that is the last thing I want."

Matt leaned back against the counter. "I guess I should thank you for that."

"Don't bother. I don't want your thanks."

"What do you want then?"

"To clear this shit up between us. I'm not going away any time soon Matt. And since I can't go with my first instinct on what to do to you, I'll have to settle for doing some confessing...I guess."

Matt frowned. "Your first instinct? What was your first instinct?"

"You'll find out later. Right now, just know that I'm taking really good care of your little brother." There was a moment of silence. "Mark just woke up. I've got to go. Remember this though: you pull a P.I. stunt again, you are going to be the one losing a limb." With that, James hung up, leaving Matt to wonder what the hell kind of relationship Jeff had gotten himself into.


	23. Chapter 23

"You are completely stupid," Mark said. "I hope you know that Lawson. You are a moron who is digging his own grave and I cannot believe you are doing something this stupid!"

James tilted his head to the side. "If I'm a moron who's completely stupid, then how are you having a hard time believing I'm doing something this stupid?"

Mark, who had just gotten home from the hospital a couple of days ago (it was abour four days after James's phone call to Matt) picked up his crutch and whacked James with it. "You are telling Matt the truth about what you are! That is a completely retarded thing to do! What if he tries to have you thrown in jail?"

"That won't happen," James insisted.

"Oh really? And how do you know that?"

"Uh....uh....I sexy beast?"

Mark just whacked James with the crutch again.

"Look Mark, as much as I hate to say this, I agree with what James is planning to do," Glenn said. "The longer he keeps trying to hide the truth, the more Matt is going to pry and do a whole bunch of bullshit that's going to lead to trouble."

James nodded. It wasn't often that he and Crispy Critter got on the same page, so when they were, it was actually kind of scary. "You know Matt better than I do Marky. You have to know he's just going to keep pushing and pushing until he finds out the truth, so why not just tell him straight to his face."

Mark sighed. "I know, but I don't want to have to come out of retirement again just so I can destroy him for trying to get a whole bunch of cops to take you away from me. Not only would I feel like shit afterwards cuz I like Matt, but that would pretty much destroy Jeff."

James sat down on the bed and rested his head against Mark's shoulder. "I'm not going to go anywhere," he told the Deadman. "I'm not going to be one hundred percent truthful with him anyway. I'm not going to say that I still kill people. I'm just going to say that I've done it in the past. And if he can't deal with that, then I'll threaten the shit out of him until he does."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "James, this is Matt Hardy we're talking about. Not only does he not take being threatened well, but he's more stubborn than a damn mule."

"So? I'm stubborn too."

"Yeah, but Matt--"

"Is not as stubborn as I am," James insisted.

"You don't know him like we do."

"Yeah but you know him and you know me. Now out of the two of us, who would win a clash of wills?"

Glenn stopped to think about that. "You know, I would actually like to find that out," he said. "That would be really entertaining."

"Well you want to know something? You're not going on this suicide mission alone. I'm telling Matt about my past too if you're going to open your big mouth."

James rolled his eyes. "Mark stop being such a drama--" He stopped as the last part of Mark's statement sank in. "Wait a minute, you--"

"Am going to confess my own sins to Matt," Mark stated, glaring at James because he hated repeating himself. "Our pasts our completely intertwined Lawson, and I'm just as guilty as you are. Besides, it'll be easy for Matt to try to sic the cops on you, but he might hesitate with that plan if I say how guilty I am to."

James just stared at Mark, actually touched by what Mark was planning on doing. Of course he couldn't actually say that because he had a reputation to maintain. "You know by offering to do this, it makes you a moron too," he pointed out.

"Yeah I know," Mark said with a nod. "Love makes me do stupid things."

James laughed and kissed Mark happily.

"Ugh!" Glenn groaned. "Get a room!"

Both Mark and James looked over at him. "We are in a room jackass!" Mark said in exasperation. "Hell, we're in MY room so we can make out if we damn well want to!"

The door suddenly opened and Jeff came in not looking very happy. James was just about to ask what was wrong when Jeff decided to answer that question himself. "You guys are telling Matt?" he yelled in shock and disbelief. "Have you both gone completely insane? You can't tell him that! He's dumb old Matt, not awesome me! He's not going to be all understanding to your thirst for blood like I am!"

James sighed. Jeff was working himself up into a tizzy and that was not a good thing. "Jeff--"

Jeff grabbed the nearest magazine and began whacking James on the head with it. "This is a bad, bad, BAD idea! Do you hear me? A bad bad BAD--"

James grabbed Jeff and began tickling him. Jeff squealed loudly in protest. "No!" he shouted. "I'm scolding you! You can't do this to me! Mark! Mark help me!"

"Sorry Jeffey," Mark said. "But I'm crippled and unable to assist you at this time."

Jeff squealed again as James found a particularly tickilish spot on his ribs. "Glenn! Glenn please help me!"

Glenn shook his head. "And risk having James kick my ass? No thanks. You're on your own Hardy."

James cackled as he continued his assault on the helpless Jeff. "Nobody's going to help you Jeff! Your ass is so mine!"

Jeff suddenly stiffened and he stopped laughing. James frowned, startled by Jeff's change in demeanor. "What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?" He stopped tickling Jeff and turned him around so they were face to face.

"Nothing," Jeff lied. "I'm fine."

James and Mark both snorted at the same time. "Come on Jeff, don't kid us," Mark said.

"Yeah," James agreed. "What the hell did I do?"

Jeff looked down. He almost looked ashamed to even say what he was feeling. "It's nothing really...it's just...Dave said something like that to me when he--he---you know..."

James just about punched himself in the face. How in the hell could he have been so stupid? "Jeff I--"

"James really, it's nothing," Jeff said quickly. "I had a bad dream during my nap earlier and it just stirred shit up in my head."

"Yeah but--"

Jeff cut him off with a kiss. "I'm fine, okay?" he said stubbornly. "Now stop being stubborn and abandon this telling Matty the truth plan."

James shook his head. "Jeff come on, you know we have to tell him. If he manages to find out another way it might not get told the way we want it told and then it could turn out being a whole lot worse."

Jeff sighed in defeat. "I know." He hugged James tightly. "I'm just scared. He's going to blow up no matter how gently we break the news to him."

"We?" Mark said with a raised eyebrow.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah we. If you guys are going to do this then I'm going to support you both. Besides, I'll probably be needed to try to help calm Matty down." He grabbed James's wrist and looked at his watch. "What time is he supposed to get here?"

"His and Adam's plane should be here in a couple of hours," James said. "Glenn and Cooper will pick them up from the airport and bring them here." He ruffled Jeff's hair and kissed the tip of his nose. "I figured we can just tell them after dinner or something."

Jeff bit his lower lip nervously. "What if I promise to be your sex slave forever and ever? Will that make you change your mind?"

"It would if we weren't already planning on making you our sex slave," Mark said with a grin.

"And on that note, I'm leaving," Glenn said. "I really don't need to see you naked ever again Marky Mark."

"Hey!" James yelled before Mark could. "First of all, he looks damn fine naked! And second of all, you don't get to call him Marky Mark! Only I get to call him that! You understand me?"

"Whatever Lawson."

James tried to get up so he could kick Glenn's ass, but Mark and Jeff held him back. "You're not going anywhere James," Mark told him. "Now lay down with me and Jeff."

"But Crispy Critter--"

"Can wait. You're laying with us right now."

James started to object again but then Jeff snuggled up to him and rested his head on his chest. That put any plans he had of destroying Glenn to rest. For the next couple of hours, he, Mark and Jeff chilled out on the bed and watched a couple _NCIS_ reruns. They heard Glenn and Cooper leave the house but they didn't get up until they heard them coming back with Adam and Matt. "Okay boys, it's time to get up and face the beast," James said with a sigh.

"Wow James, thanks for making Matt sound Caroline," Mark said sarcastically. "That just makes me that much more eager to go face the music."

James just sighed and helped Mark get stood up on his crutches. Once he was up okay, the three of them left the room and went into the kitchen. Connor was babbling on and on to Adam, who looked afraid to get to close to the youngest psycho of the bunch. Cooper was checking on dinner and Glenn and Matt were talking quietly in the corner.

"Hey Matt," Jeff said. His voice had raised about an octave higher than it normally was, which betrayed how nervous he was.

Matt looked up at Jeff. "Hey Jeffro," he said. He eyed James nervously. James gave Jeff a gentle push and made sure the brothers hugged each other. "Wow, that's sweet," he said in appreciation. "If my brother hadn't been such a pathetic cockroach, I would have hugged him like that."

Mark smirked. "Really?"

"Well no, but that's because my arms would have been lost in all of his fat folds." James shuddered as an old image of Jacob popped into his head. "Ugh, now I need to go throw up."

Connor giggled loudly. "Daddy's bulimic! Daddy's bulimic!" He stopped and then looked up at Adam. "Hey Edge, what's bulimic?"

"I'm not bulimic!" James denied before Adam could answer. "Now stopping using words you don't know the meaning too. You're just going to get confused and upset."

Connor just giggled again in response.

"Dinner's ready bitches," Cooper announced. "Come and get it!"

"What are we having anyway?" Mark asked.

"I think it's lasagna," Glenn replied.

"You _think_?"

"Well Cooper cooked it so..."

"Shut the fuck up Glenn!" Cooper ordered. "I'm a damn good cook and you know it!"

Connor nodded along. "It's true. He can cook a bowl of cereal really well."

Adam frowned. "Uh... people don't cook bowls of cereal."

Connor gave Adam a look that clearly showed how unhappy he was to be corrected. "I bite," he threatened.

Adam shrank back in fear.

James rolled his eyes at Connor's antics and went to help Cooper serve dinner. The meal itself was quiet and uneventful. The only thing that happened was Connor kept creeping Adam out (much to Matt's annoyance and James's amusement). Once everyone was done eating, James signaled to Cooper to take Connor out of the room and Glenn left too, although James was positive that Crispy Critter wouldn't stray too far. There was a chance that this would turn ugly and he could be needed.

"Matt, we need to talk," Mark said before Matt and Adam could go anywhere.

Adam got a nervous look on his face but Matt tried to keep his own expression as neutral as possible. "What about?" he asked.

"A lot of stuff," Mark said, going on despite the fact that Jeff was biting the shit out of his nails. "It's about both mine and James's past. You see, when we were younger, we um...well I'm not sure how to put this in a way that doesn't sound terrible--"

"There's not Marky," James said bluntly. "Okay? There's not. Matt, Adam, Mark and I have killed people. A lot of people. And it wasn't to protect anyone or in self defense. We killed innocent people. I grew up in an environment that was bound to produce at least one serial killer and that was me and Mark...well he didn't have a bad home life but he killed just to do it. And I know that sounds really shitty and all, but we love your brother and want to be with him and if you try to call the cops I'll gut you like a fish."

The stares he got ranged from disbelief (Adam), shock (Matt), horror (Jeff) and irritation (Mark). "What the fuck Lawson?" Mark finally said. "Why did you have to put it like that?"

"Well you were beating around the bush and wasting time," James said defensively. "I was just trying to help!"

Adam shook his head. "You're not serious," he said immediately. "Come on, that's not even a funny joke."

"Who said I was joking?" James said. "I--"

"James, shut your mouth!" Mark ordered. "You've done enough helping for tonight."

"Oh come on, I just--"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Matt announced. "I really really think I'm going to be sick." He got up to his feet and stared at James. "I'm not even going to doubt you because I know Mark...well, at least I THOUGHT I did." He glared at Mark. "I trusted you Mark. I trusted you with my life. And all this time you've been a killer?"

Mark shook his head. "The only person I've killed in the past ten years was Dave. I quit, alright? I no longer had the urge to do it, so I didn't."

"So you didn't quit because it's wrong," Matt said. He looked at James. "What about you? I bet you haven't stopped, have you? You're still out there killing aren't you?"

_Damn, he's too insightful for his own good,_ James thought to himself. _That's a problem_. "I--"

"You know what? Don't even say anything. I'm sure it's going to be a lie." Now Matt looked at Jeff. "You've known this entire time haven't you?"

Jeff could barely nod. His head was down, his eyes were tightly closed and he was shaking like a leaf.

"Jefferey Nero Hardy!" Matt yelled, causing his brother to flinch violently. "How could you be knowing this shit? They've KILLED people Jeff. INNOCENT people. They should be in JAIL right now, not sitting here pretending that they love you."

"Hey hey hey hey!" Mark objected. "You know what? You can talk about what we deserve all you want to but don't fucking insinuate that we don't love Jeff because we do!"

"Yeah right," Matt said hatefully. "I don't believe you. People who take innocent lives can't feel human feelings."

"You've got a point, but you're not completely right," James said, getting up to his feet so he could face off with Matt. "We don't feel bad about what we've done in the past. I don't feel bad when murderous thoughts cross my mind. But we can love. Mark's grown to appreciate human life more than me so he can feel easier than I can. Me, it's a struggle sometimes. But I love Mark and I love your brother. Does it change what I've done and what Mark and I am? No, it doesn't. Under the eyes of the law and God--if there is one--we are both guilty as fuck. But the thing is Matt, we are what we are. We've accepted it and Jeff has to. Whether you do or not, that's your choice."

Matt glared at him before looking at Jeff. "You, me, outside, right now," he ordered. " I want to talk to you alone. Adam--"

"I know I know, I'm coming," Adam said quickly.

Jeff gave James a desperate look before following Matt. James looked at Mark, who motioned for him to go follow and eavesdrop. _Hopefully Matt's not going to try to drag Jeff away from us by force, or we're going to have a SERIOUS fucking problem._


	24. Chapter 24

"What the FUCK has been going through your head Jeff?" Matt asked, doing his best to get in Jeff's face despite the fact that Adam was doing everything he could to make sure some distance was kept between the two of them. "Seriously, how can you even sleep at night knowing what the two of them have done?"

Jeff reluctantly looked into his brother's enraged eyes. He was shaking so badly that it was beyond his control. He had never seen Matt this pissed off at him before in his life. "Well I close my eyes and just let myself--"

Adam quickly put his hand over Jeff's mouth. "Jeff don't," he pleaded quietly. "Now is not the time for smartass answers."

Jeff forcibly removed Adam's hand away from his mouth. Then he took a step back when it looked like Matt was going to slap him. "What do you want me to say Matt? I know this is bad--"

"Bad does not even begin to cover this!" Matt snapped. "They have KILLED people Jeff! INNOCENT people!"

"Yeah, well...that's not MY problem," Jeff said, not actually having a good argument or excuse to use to counter that statement.

Matt and Adam both gave Jeff looks of complete disbelief. Jeff kind of felt bad for saying it, but it was too late to take it back. "Look, just forget about it," he said, just wanting to make this all stop. He didn't want to keep fighting with Matt. He just wanted everyone to be okay with each other so he could focus on being happy with James and Mark.

"Forget about it?" Matt repeated, gently moving Adam out of the way so that there was nobody in between him and Jeff anymore. "Damn it Jeff, listen to yourself! Have you already become that insensitive to human life by dating these two monsters?"

"They are not monsters!" Jeff said defensively. "Dave was a monster! Mark and James aren't like him!"

"They are too monsters!" Matt insisted. "Maybe they don't do the stuff Dave did to Adam but that doesn't change the fact that they're monsters."

Jeff shook his head. "Matt you KNOW Mark. You know that Mark's a good guy. What he used to do is in the past. He's not the guy he used to be. And James--"

Matt folded his arms over his chest. "James is what Jeff? Huh? Are you going to stand there and tell me that he's going to stop killing just for you? Are you going to tell me that you're going to be the one to tame that beast? Because somehow I doubt that's going to happen. James didn't sound ashamed when he was making his little confession. In fact, I'll bet you a hundred dollars that he'll kill again within a week."

"You can't make bets like that!" Jeff said angrily. "You don't know him like I do!"

"What is there to know Jeff? He made a CHOICE to kill. He may be psychotic, but he's not insane. He knows that he's done wrong."

"You don't know how bad he had it when he was a kid. His parents--"

"What, abused him? Tough shit. That's not an excuse. Hundreds of kids get abused and they don't turn into psycho killers."

Jeff bit his lip. He knew that was true, but he also knew that James's childhood still affected him more than he would ever actually admit, and it played a role in him turning out the way he did.

Matt shook his head. "Jeff please, you're aren't safe here. Let me take you--"

"No! I'm not leaving!" Jeff yelled stubbornly. He made sure to have his feet planted firmly in the ground. "I love Mark and James and you're not tearing us apart!"

"Oh yeah? How much do you want to bet on that?" Matt replied.

Adam forcibly put himself back in between the Hardys. "Guys stop!" he ordered. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

"Jeff, you're coming home with me and that's final!" Matt growled.

"NO!" Jeff shouted. He took a step back so he was out of Matt's reach. "I'm staying here! You can't make me go anywhere with you!"

Matt reached out to grab Jeff by the wrist, causing Jeff to jump back and scream. That scream caused James and Glenn to come storming out of the house. "You keep your hands off of him!" James bellowed. "If he doesn't want to go with you, then he doesn't have to!"

"You stay out of this!" Matt snarled. He attempted to lunge at James but Adam held him back. "Jeff's my brother! I'm not letting him stay here with you, you fucking--"

"Matt stop!" Adam interrupted as James attempted to get at Matt (Glenn and Jeff barely stopped him in time). "Please, do not say anything that's going to get you killed!"

"You better listen to your boyfriend," James warned Matt. "Because if you open your big mouth and tell someone what I just told you, you and Blondie will get it. That's a fucking promise!"

Matt scowled at James before looking at Jeff. "So that's the guy you're going to choose huh? You're going to let him threaten me and Adam like that?"

Jeff looked down at his feet. He was completely torn at the moment. On the one hand, he didn't want James threatening Matt and Adam. But on the other hand, he didn't want Matt to even contemplate turning James and Mark into the police. "Matt, James, please stop," he begged. "Don't keep doing this."

"Do what?" Matt asked angrily. "What the hell am I doing that's so wrong?"

"You're making a giant scene for one," Glenn pointed out. "You all need to calm the fuck down."

"I am calm," James muttered defensively.

"Calm down?" Matt said incredulously. "You want me to calm down? I get this huge fucking bombshell dropped on me and you want me to calm down?"

"For Jeff's sake, yes," Glenn replied. "Screaming and shouting at the top of your lungs is not going to help your case. Jeff is in love with Mark and James. And while you don't seem to believe they love him back, they do. They will not hurt him. They've already proven more than once. The thing you just found out about doesn't change anything except your opinion of them."

Jeff gave Matt a pleading look. "Matty please, I'm not asking you to accept what they are or what they've done. I'm just begging you to trust me. I'm an adult and I know what I'm doing."

Matt didn't say anything for the longest time. He just looked at Jeff for the longest time before turning around and walking away. He didn't even stop to get into his car. He just took off on his own two feet.

"Matty?" Jeff called out. "Matt?" He started chasing after his brother when he was stopped by Adam.

"That might not be the best idea," Adam said quietly. "I'll go after him and talk to him. Just...stay here. I guess." He gave James a nervous look.

James rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. Don't give me that look. I'm not going to do anything bad to Jeff here. Wouldn't you think I would have done it by now?"

Adam just shrugged before giving Glenn a look that seemed to say "Watch over Jeff". When Glenn nodded, the Canadian took off after Matt.

Letting out a sigh, Jeff rubbed his eyes and leaned up against James. "I told you telling Matt was a bad idea," he said quietly.

James wrapped his arms around Jeff and held on to him tightly. "Yeah, well, it had to be done. All we have to do now is ride out the storm and let things work themselves out."

Jeff buried his face into James's chest. He didn't want to ride out the storm. He wanted everything to be worked out already. But realistically, that was not going to happen any time soon. It was going to be a long time before Matt was anywhere close to being okay with this.

If he ever got close to being okay with it anyways.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Adam caught up with Matt about two blocks away from the house. The dark haired man was sitting on the curb, his arms wrapped around his legs and his face buried in his knees. Sighing, Adam sat down next to his lover. "So uh...I'm not exactly sure what to say right now."

Matt moved his head back up so he could look over at Adam. "Neither am I. This is so fucked up that it's not even funny."

"I know it is." Adam wrapped his arms around Matt and kissed his cheek. "Jeff really knows how to pick them, doesn't he?"

Matt shook his head. "You have no idea how badly I want to go back there and drag Jeff kicking and screaming away from them. It seriously is taking me every bit of strength I have not to do it."

Adam sighed. "Well I'm glad you're resisting that urge. James looked like he didn't want to give Jeff up without a fight."

"That's not why I didn't drag Jeff away," Matt objected. "I don't give a damn what he wants or doesn't want. It's just that...I don't know. I don't know what to do or think anymore. I mean, I feel like my whole world has been turned upside down. My brother loves two killers, one of which I would have trusted with my life until tonight."

Adam played with his shoelaces. "Actually....I still would trust Mark with my life."

Matt gave Adam an incredulous look. "You would?"

"Yeah. I mean I know he's done some fucked up things, but to me, he's still Mark. I've worked with him just as long as you have and I honestly do not believe that he's going to start killing for shits and giggles again. He killed Dave to protect Jeff and anyone else that bastard was going to hurt."

Matt sighed. "Well even if you're right about that, what about James? I'm not going to sit back and just let him kill more people."

"This is going to sound absolutely horrible, but I have to say it: why the hell not?" Adam shook his head. "Look, you telling the cops will not end well, no matter how it plays out."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Let me lay this out for you. Scenario one: you go to the cops, they get evidence and arrest Mark and James. They go to jail for forever. Jeff falls apart completely. He absolutely hates you. And after awhile, he kills himself."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Matt exclaimed. He looked at Adam in shock. "What the hell kind of scenario is that?"

Adam held up his hand. "Hold on, don't comment until I'm finished. Now scenario two goes pretty much the same way, only before Jeff kills us instead and ends up in jail with his lovers. Scenario three, Mark and James break out and kills before Jeff gets a chance to do it. Scenario four--"

"Adam please stop. I think I get where you're going with this."

"I'm not finished!" Adam whined. "Let me finish! Scenario four and five involve only one getting arrested and the other one killing us and then the one going to jail breaks out and---are you even listening to me anymore Matt?"

Matt rubbed his temples. "Unfortunately yes."

Adam giggled despite himself and snuggled up closer to Matt. They just sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before Adam decided to speak again. "Look, I know you want to do the right thing and stuff. I do too. But I would much rather not get stabbed because I actually like living. I really do. And I know you do too."

Matt sighed. "Yeah, but just keeping my mouth shut feels wrong. I feel like I have to do something."

"I know you do, but besides from Dave, we don't know someone that's crossed paths with James and Mark and wound up dead," Adam pointed out. "And if the cops get involved and don't find any proof, we're the boys that cried serial killer and then we're going to be the boys that cried "Oh my God, help me I'm dying" as we're horribly slaughtered."

Matt raised his eyebrows. "So basically you're on the side of we don't do anything so we don't get killed."

"Exactly. I know it's selfish and stuff, but it is what it is." Adam gave Matt a look. "Look, don't do anything stupid or rash tongiht. Just step back and think about everything before you do something that might come back and bite you in the ass later. Okay? For me?"

It took a few minutes, but Matt finally gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. I'll try to do that. But if I get a feeling that Jeff's in danger all of a sudden--"

"You'll go in and take him," Adam said with a nod. He didn't know how smart that idea was, but there was only so much of this battle he was going to win with Matt. He just had to take what he could get.

Matt nodded. "Yeah. I definitely fucking will."


	25. Chapter 25

Jeff sighed as he rested his head on James's chest. It had been a couple of hours since Matt and Adam had left, and the fight that had taken place was still bothering him. He didn't like fighting with Matt. Sure it was easy to do sometimes, but it was never something he actually enjoyed. Tonight had been no different. No wait, tonight had been different. Tonight had been worse. Much, much worse.

Sighing again, Jeff looked up at James. The killer appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Smiling a little bit, Jeff looked over to the other side of the bed. Mark wasn't there yet. He had promised to be in after a few minutes, but he hadn't made good on that promise yet. Jeff carefully slipped out of James's embrace and got up to his feet. He was going to find Mark and see why he hadn't come to bed yet. _Hopefully nothing is wrong. I really don't want anything to be wrong right now. I'm not sure if I can handle anything else tonight._

Mark ended up being out on the back porch. He had his bad leg propped up on the little table that had been set up there and he was staring up at the moon, a bottle of vodka dangling loosely in his right hand. "Mark?" Jeff said hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

Mark sighed. "Pull up a chair Jeff. I need to talk to you."

Jeff frowned but did what he was told. "What's wrong Mark?"

"I've just been thinking about this whole thing with you, James and me. I'm not sure if it was the best idea."

Jeff gulped. He already didn't like where this conversation was going. "Why?"

"Because I'm not sure if being with us is good for you." Mark shook his head. "It's already ripping you and Matt apart."

"So? This isn't the first time Matt hasn't approved of someone I dated."

"Yeah, but this time he's not in the wrong." Mark shook his head. "I've just got to ask this right now: do you even really even think about what James and I really are? You know, with the whole killing people thing?"

"Mark you're retired. You--"

"That doesn't mean I don't ever feel the urge," Mark confessed. He took a drink of the vodka. "Sometimes I do still feel the urge. But I don't actually want to act on it, so I don't."

"Well that's what's important," Jeff said. He put his legs up on the chair he was sitting on and hugged them up to his chest. "You stopped. You're not that guy anymore. As for James...I mean if you stopped, he could--"

"He won't," Mark said immediately. "Not for good. There's no way in hell it's going to happen."

"But--"

"Look, he's tried before. Back when Annabelle was alive, he tried about three times. None of them took for long." Mark took another drink of his vodka. "See, the thing with me was, I did like to kill people, but it wasn't an uncontrolable need for me. If I had to not do it, I would not do it. That was why I was able to stop for good. But James isn't like me Jeff. He's practically addicted to murder. And I know I've enabled him in the past, and I know I'm going to keep enabling him. Maybe it's not right, but it is what it is. Killing gives him joy and even though I'll never admit this to his face, I like seeing him happy."

Jeff rested his chin on his knees. "But the only person that he's killed since he hooked up with us was that one hooker he--"

"That's what he's admitted to Jeff. James isn't always the best at admitting to what he's done. Maybe the body count is down for now, but it's only a matter of time before it goes back up."

"Jesus Christ Mark, you have no faith in the guy."

"Jeff, you don't know him the way I do. You know the side of him he's allowed you to see. You know that he kills, but you don't know that side of him." Mark put the vodka down on the porch. "So what do you even think about that hooker that you know that he killed? I mean, do you think she deserved it?"

"I don't know. It's not like I knew her." Jeff shifted around in his seat uncomfortably.

"Well let me clear something up for you: she didn't. She just had the misfortune of meeting James at the wrong place, at the wrong time." Mark got up enough to move his chair so that he could be completely face to face with Jeff. "You need to understand something Jeff. James is not this dark avenger that kills the wicked and saves the day for all the little children and puppies and shit like that. James kills innocent people. A few of his victims--like Dave, his parents and this really nasty child rapist who tried to attack Connor--do deserve to die. But for the most part, the majority of them do not deserve it. I've killed my share of innocent people in my time, but my numbers don't even really compare to James's. He has no regard for human life. The only lines he doesn't cross are raping his victims and killing children."

Jeff chewed on his lower lip. While it was good to know that James did have some sort of boundries, he still really didn't like this conversation. It was making him think about things he would rather not think about. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked. "Can't we just--"

"What? Ignore the huge serial killing elephant that is in the room?" Mark interrupted. "Jeff, I am telling you this because you need to actually think about this and understand what it is that you have gotten yourself into. If you are going to be with James, you have to come to terms with the fact that James kills innocent people. You have to come to terms that I used to do the same thing and that I still have the potential to do it if the mood really strikes me. This isn't something you can just ignore completely. By being with us and not turning us in, you are enabling us to keep going on the road we've always been on. You have to decide if we're worth ignoring everything you've ever been taught and possibly throwing your relationship with Matt down the drain."

"You are," Jeff said quietly.

Mark shook his head. "You didn't think about it Jeff. You're clinging to the fact that we saved you from Dave and that's all your basing your opinions on."

"That's not true," Jeff denied stubbornly. "Why are you even acting like this Mark? Aren't you happy that I want to be with you guys?"

"I'm fucking estatic about it. But I don't want you waking up one day and regretting your choice. If you don't try to at least start actually dealing with these issues now, you're going to not be happy with yourself later."

Jeff looked down at his legs. Deep down, he knew Mark was right. But he didn't think it was fair. He didn't want to think about all of that shit. He had finally found two people who made him happier than he ever had been before. It wasn't just because they had saved him from Dave. It had gone way beyond that. For years now, he had felt like he was missing something in his life. And even though he hadn't let anyone else know about it, and he even tried to deny it to himself, he had been really lonely for a long time. He had loved Mark for so long yet but Mark was always out of reach. Mark was something he thought he could never have. But then he got Mark and he had fallen even more in love with the man. And on top of that, he had gotten James too. And as fucked up and bad as James was, Jeff knew he had fallen for the psycho too.

"Jeff?" Mark said slowly. "You okay?"

"Why can't love just ever be enough?" Jeff asked. "Why does other shit have to matter?"

"Because love can be a dangerous thing sometimes," Mark answered. "Sometimes love gets you into situations that you shouldn't be in."

"Is that a way of saying I shouldn't be with you?"

"Well--"

"You WANTED me to be with you. James and you came to ME. You wanted this relationship and I did too!"

"I know but--"

"But what? Do you want to break up?"

"No, but I want you to think about what's best for you. I want you to make as much peace with everything as you can now before it haunts you later. And don't excuse James's behavior because of his parents. That's not an excuse. Thousand of kids get abused but they don't all turn into serial killers. And I was never abused but look how I turned out."

"It did play a role in how he turned out," Jeff pointed out. "You know him better than I do but even I can't deny that."

Mark sighed. "Yeah, it definitely didn't help. But it's still not an excuse. What if Dave had been abused? Or what if he was abused but none of us knew it? What would you say to that?"

Jeff didn't say anything. He couldn't without sounding either like a hypocrite or really cold and mean.

Mark picked up his vodk again and drank it. "I didn't want to bring this all up. I really didn't. But we can't avoid these issues forever. You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," Jeff said. "I get it." He didn't like it, but he got it. "I'm going back inside," he muttered. He didn't wait for Mark to say anything else. He just went back inside and started heading towards the bedroom that he had been sharing with James and Mark. He wanted to talk to James about all this. Mark's position on the situation was clear, but now it was time to hear from the active killer himself.

"James?" Jeff said as he opened the bedroom door. "Are you..." The question went unfinished. James wasn't in the bedroom anymore. "James?" Jeff called out. He began searching the house, calling out for his other lover over and over again, but it was no use. James was gone...and so were Cooper and Connor. _Now why do I have the feeling that's not a good thing?_


	26. Chapter 26

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Connor sang as he bounced around excitedly. "Me likey bouncy! Me likey bouncy!"

Cooper groaned loudly. "Dad please, make him stop. He's driving me crazy!"

James sighed. The boys were driving him absolutely insane. "Why don't you just take care of it?" he asked in exasperation. "You know how to make him shut up."

Cooper nodded and then proceeded to pop Connor right in the mouth. "Shut up you dork!" he ordered. "Stop being so fucking annoying!"

Connor whined and smacked Cooper back. "Daddy, Cooper hit me!"

James rolled his eyes. This was not exactly how he had pictured this night going. Between Matt's reaction to the revelation of his true nature (which, while annoying, had been entirely expected and understandable given the oldest Hardy's moral character) and overhearing Mark talk to Jeff about him behind his back, he was starting to get kind of annoyed. Sure he knew that Mark was absolutely right on all counts, but that didn't stop him from feeling annoyed. He would have at least appreciated the courtesy of being included in on the conversation so he could say his peace. But no, Mark had to do it in secret. Part of him had wanted to jump in during Mark and Jeff's little talk or even confront Mark afterwards, but he hadn't done either of those things. It wasn't really because he had been wanting to avoid a fight; he rarely ever avoided a fight if he could help it. He was good at fighting because he could frustrate the other person into giving up. But tonight....well he didn't really know why he had just snuck out of the house. It had just seemed like the thing to do at the time.

"Daddy!" Connor said impatiently. He grabbed the sleeve of James's shirt and tugged on it. "Did you hear me? Cooper hit me!"

"Well you were being annoying," James snapped without thinking.

Connor's mouth dropped open as Cooper laughed. That had not been the response he had been looking for. "MEAN!" he yelled before kicking James on the shin and storming off.

James sighed. "Fuck," he said. He wasn't going to admit it out loud, but that had actually kind of hurt.

Cooper patted James on the back. "It's about time you said that. He needed to hear it." He shoved his hands into his pocket. "Of course he probably won't talk to us for the rest of the night now."

"Oh he'll talk," James muttered. "But he'll just scream about us being mean and shit like that."

"True." Cooper cast a look in the direction Connor had gone off in. Connor hadn't gone too far yet. It looked like he had found something on the ground that had captured his attention so that was stalling him. "You okay Dad?" Cooper asked.

"I'm fine," James said automatically. He didn't really look at Cooper as he said that. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you look like something is bothering you," Cooper replied. He gave James an exasperated look. "Come on Dad, don't bullshit me. Just tell me what's wrong."

"Ugh...fine," James said in defeat. He told Cooper about the conversation he had overheard Mark and Jeff having. Cooper listened to every word he said and Connor didn't come back over to interrupt the proceedings (which probably meant he was doing something that he shouldn't). "So what do you think?" James asked when he was done with the explaining.

Cooper sighed. "Well I would say Mark is right, but I don't want to say that, so I won't. What I will say is that you might need to make a choice."

James grimaced. "I hate choices. Why do I have to make a choice?"

"Because life is about choices. With great power comes great responsibility."

"And with my knife comes a great amount of bodies," James said. He folded his arms over his chest. "Don't quote Spiderman boy. It makes you sound like a geek."

"Well if Connor hadn't made me watch that fucking movie six times earlier today, that wouldn't have happened," Cooper replied. "Now let's get back to the point. You have four options to choose from here. One is that you keep killing people and just hope that Jeff stays on the path of denial he's on now."

"I like that one," James said eagerly. "Let's go with that one."

"You didn't hear the other options yet."

"I don't care! I like that one!"

Cooper glared at him. "Shut up and listen for five seconds. Your second option is to tell Jeff that you're going to stop killing people, but then keep killing people in secret. I don't think you should go with this one though because it'll take Mark about two minutes to figure out that you're lying."

James pouted. That was one thing he didn't like about being so close to Mark. It was really hard to get away with shit when he wanted to.

"Another option is to keep killing people, but only kill guilty people."

"Like that guy from that show you watch?" James asked. "Uh...what was it again?"

"Dexter," Cooper answered. "And yes, that's exactly what I mean."

James thought about it. That thought had potential, but the only problem was that it would take too much time to sort out who was guilty and who was innocent. And time required patience, which was something he did not have a lot of. "What's the last option?" he asked. He needed to know what the hell else he could do.

Cooper suddenly looked apprehensive. "Well it's uh...it's...I shouldn't even say this..."

"Just say it already!" James ordered.

"The last option is that you stop killing completely."

James stared at Cooper in disbelief. "What?" he finally said.

Cooper shrugged. "I just--"

"Why in the hell would I do a thing like that?" James asked. He was trying to imagine a life without killing and he just couldn't fathom it. Killing was in his blood. It was what he did. He was good at it and he loved it. Not doing it...he couldn't even imagine that.

"What if Jeff asked you to do it?" Cooper asked. "Or better yet, what if Jeff said that you had to stop killing or he was going to leave you? What would you say?"

James blinked. He was actually at a loss for words. "Um...I would um..." He threw his hands up in the air. "Cooper this isn't fair! Why in the hell would Jeff give me a choice like that?"

"Because he's not a killer!" Cooper replied. "And he's not a killer in retirement or a retired killer's brother who's too used to this to give much of a shit anymore. He's a moral person with compassion for human life. Do you really think he's going to stay okay with what you do forever?"

James pouted. The answer to that was no, although he wanted it to be yes very badly. "This sucks," he announced. "The only option I actually like is the first one."

Cooper sighed. "You're not even going to consider any of the other ones?"

"Well...the third one I'll think about," James said. "But the second one would be a fail in epic proportions and the I don't even want to think about that last one." The few times he had tried quitting for Annabelle's sake flashed through his head and they made him shudder. Denying his bloodlust was not something he ever wanted to do again if he could help it. Was that selfish? Probably. Could he really quit if he really really wanted to? Maybe. But the problem was that he didn't see why he should quit. He had tried to see it for Annabelle's sake, but he never managed to do it. Of course Annabelle had never been good about making sure he stopped for good, so that hadn't helped matters. If he had really thought that she had been going to leave him even for a second because of the him killing thing, he would have tried a million times harder to actually stop.

"Daddy!" Connor called out. "Coopy! Come here!"

Cooper and James went to look at Connor, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Oh good grief," James muttered. "If he's playing hide and seek again, I'm going to kick his ass. Last time he did this bullshit it took me five hours to find him."

Cooper shook his head. "If he was playing hide and seek, he wouldn't have yelled." He motioned for James to follow him. "Come on. I think I know where he was yelling from."

James followed Cooper into a nearby alley. As soon as they got there, Connor ran and jumped all over James. The blood that had been on his shirt automatically was transferred to James. "Daddy, those girls tried to touch me inappropriately!" he tattled.

James raised his eyebrows. "They did?"

Connor nodded. "Yup." He buried his face into James's shoulder. "It was horrible!"

James looked over at Cooper, who shrugged. There was no way that they were ever going to find out whether that was true or not. Connor's version of the truth wasn't always the actual truth. Connor had a tendency to misinterpret things like this all the time, and people touching him inappropriately was one of the common excuses he gave when James or Cooper asked him why he chose to kill someone.

A choking noise made all three of them look over at the girls. Two of them were very much dead, but one was still fighting for her life. "You didn't finish her off?" James said with a frown.

Connor pouted. "I thoughts she was dead!"

James sighed and handed Connor over to Cooper. "Hold him," he ordered. He walked over to the girl that was trying to crawl away. She was young; definitely no more than sixteen or seventeen. Her clothes were completely stained with blood; he actually couldn't tell what color they might have been before Connor had gotten his hands on her. He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up just enough so he could take his knife and slash her throat. He couldn't take any chances with her. She had seen Connor's face. If she somehow lived, then there was a chance that she could become a problem later on.

"Where are we going to put these bitches?" Cooper asked. "There's no dumpster to put them in."

James looked around and noticed that Cooper was right. But there was something else he could use. He walked forward about ten steps and pulled up a man hole cover. "Everyone grab a body," he ordered. "We'll toss them down to the sewer."

Cooper and Connor did what they were told, and they disposed of the bodies as quickly as they could. James put the cover back over the hole when they were done and then the three of them retreated further into the alley. They were going to have to stay hidden in the shadows now since James and Connor were covered in blood. "That was fun," Connor said happily. He put his arms around James and Cooper. "I wants to do it more."

Cooper shook his head. "Connor--"

"Okay," James agreed, cutting off Cooper. "But just for a little bit longer."

"Yay!" Connor cheered.

Cooper glared at James. "Dad..."

"What?" James said innocently. Deep down, he knew that this might not be the smartest thing in the world to do, but he still needed time to decide what he was going to do about the whole Jeff thing. And since sometimes he thought better after a good hunt, he thought that this was just what he needed to help him make up his mind.

Cooper shook his head. "This is not going to end well. What are you going to tell Jeff if he finds out you're doing this?"

"Well I'm kind of hoping he'll still be in his big denial thing and he'll just overlook it."

"Dad!"

James groaned. "Okay okay! I'll think of something...and I'll try to leave most of the killing to you and Connor. How's that?"

Cooper sighed in defeat. "It's a start," he muttered. "But I think you're going to have to accept the fact that something around here will probably have to change if you keep up your relationship with Jeff."

_I know I know,_ James thought unhappily. _That's kind of what I'm afraid of._


	27. Chapter 27

Matt leaned back in his chair as he stared out the hotel window. He hadn't even tried to go to sleep yet. His mind was racing with thoughts about Jeff, James and Mark. He knew what the right thing do would be: he needed to call the police and tell them what he knew about James. If they could find the evidence they needed, they could put him in jail and innocent lives would be saved. But despite knowing that he should do this, he couldn't bring himself to actually go through with it yet. It wasn't the thought of Jeff hating him for it or the thought of James coming after him that was stopping him; no, he was more worried about James targeting Jeff and Adam for revenge. If something happened to either of them, he wouldn't be able to ever forgive himself for it.

And then there was the Mark issue. Matt honestly didn't know what Mark would do if James was arrested. As much as the Deadman loved Jeff, he seemed just as attached to James. Matt couldn't help but wonder if James getting taken away would reawaken the monster that lived deep inside the Undertaker. _If James gets taken away, how far would he go to get him back? Would he kill to get James back? Would he come after me when he figured out I was the one who did it? Would he target Jeff to get to me?_ Just a few days ago, that question wouldn't have even crossed Matt's mind. But now everything had changed. Mark had admitted to being a killer, just like James. Taker claimed he wasn't actively doing it anymore, but that didn't mean too much to Matt at the moment. Mark had killed Dave because he had hurt Jeff; who was to say he wouldn't kill again for James's sake?

"Matt?"

Matt looked over and saw that Adam was now standing next to him. "Hey baby," he said.

Adam frowned at him as he sat down on his lap. "Are you driving yourself crazy over here Matt?" he asked.

"Yeah," Matt admitted. He began stroking Adam's golden locks. "How did you know?"

"I know you," Adam replied. He rested his head on Matt's shoulder. "You're not that hard for me to figure out."

Matt kept stroking Adam's hair. "I don't know what to do," he said quietly. "I mean, I know the right thing to do would be to turn James into the police. It doesn't matter whether Jeff has feelings for him or not; he's a killer."

"I sense a but somewhere in the future," Adam said.

"But...I'm worried about what could happen to you and Jeff if I do the right thing," Matt confessed. "I know that's selfish, but I can't help it. James could do something to you guys...and even if he ends up in jail, there's those boys of his...and Mark...well I don't know about Mark anymore."

Adam pulled back a little so he could look Matt in the eyes. "Do you think Mark might do something to me and Jeff if you tell the cops about James?"

"Yeah."

"So wait...does this mean you're not planning on turning Mark in then?"

Matt stopped for a second. He had been obsessing so much about James recently that he hadn't even thought about that. "I don't know," he said. "I mean I know he said he was a killer in the past...but the only person I know he's killed recently is Dave, and I don't really want him to get in trouble for that...that was done because it had to be done. And James is probably out right now, killing some innocent person who doesn't know what they're getting into when they go by him...fuck, I don't know what to do. If I don't do the right thing, I'm basically an accessory to everything James does, which is not what I want at all. But it's hard for me to even think about doing something that could put you and Jeff in danger. You guys are just as innocent as anyone else."

Adam bit his lower lip. "Well fuck, now you've made my brain hurt," he complained.

Matt smiled weakly. "Sorry Adam." He kissed his blonde Canadian on the side of the head. "I just wish that I could make up my mind about this whole thing. This whole indecision thing is killing me."

Adam sat there with a serious look on his face. Then he suddenly perked up a little bit. "Why don't you just ask your dad what he would do? The Legend is very rarely wrong when it comes to the advice he gives out."

Matt blinked. He hadn't even thought about that. "That's a great idea. I should call him right--" He stopped as soon as he saw what time it was. "Oh. Never mind. I'll call him in the morning."

"Good thinking," Adam said. He got up and then pulled Matt up too. "And until then, I will happily distract you from this gigantic mess of a situation."

"You will? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Adam smirked and got on the bed, making sure to pull Matt down right on top of him. Matt just chuckled and kissed the Rated R Superstar. If this didn't distract him, then absolutely nothing would.

....

Jeff paced around nervously. It had been a couple of hours and James still wasn't back yet. He wanted to go out looking for the older man, but Mark wouldn't let him. Mark insisted that they stay in the house and wait for the three Lawsons to come back on their own. That wasn't a decision that was sitting well with Jeff at all. "What if he got hurt or something?" Jeff asked, ready to launch himself at Mark and throttle him until he gave in and they went out looking for James. "And what if Cooper and Connor aren't with him at all and he's in a ditch somewhere--"

Mark rubbed his temples tiredly. He looked ready to snap himself. "Jeff, would you calm down? James is fine."

"How do you know?" Jeff asked. "You haven't--" His voice trailed off as he remembered that Mark had gone to the bathroom earlier and had taken his phone with him. He hadn't really given that action much thought earlier, but now he was. "Did you talk to him earlier and not tell me?" he asked.

Mark sighed before nodding. "Yeah, I texted him and found out where he ran off too."

Jeff put his hands on his hips. "And?"

"And what?"

"Mark!" Jeff yelled. He was really frustrated now. Was it that hard for someone to tell him where James was? That was all he wanted to know. It wasn't like he was asking for much.

Mark shook his head. "He's just out for a walk Jeff. Just relax, alright?"

Jeff knew that Mark was lying. He could feel it in his gut. But instead of confronting Mark about it, he just went upstairs. A nasty little voice in his head was telling him that James was doing something bad, but he did his best to ignore it. He started heading for the bathroom but then he heard a loud thump coming from a room behind him. That made him stop right in his tracks. _What the hell was that?_

"Jesus Dad, could you be any louder?" Cooper asked sarcastically. "What was the point of sneaking in here if you were just going to go ahead and knock something over?"

"You shush up," James ordered. "It's not my fault someone put that fucking stool there. I--Connor! Get away from that window! We're not going back out tonight."

"Aw!" Connor whined. "But Daddy, I was just getting started!"

"I don't care. We're done killing for the night."

Before Jeff knew what he was doing, he was walking forward and going into that room. The first thing he saw was James, Cooper and Connor, all covered in various amounts of blood. Seeing how it was mostly just on their clothes, Jeff had a sinking feeling that none of it was theirs.

As soon as James looked up and saw that Jeff was there, he froze. Cooper just shook his head. "Uh oh," he muttered.

"Jeff!" Mark called out. It sounded like he was trying to get up the stairs. "Why don't you--"

"Too late Mark!" Cooper yelled. "We've been caught!"

Connor looked back and forth between James and Jeff before rolling his eyes. "I'm bored!" he announced loudly.

Cooper rolled his eyes and dragged his little brother out of the room. "Come on, I'll entertain you."

"You'll play G.I. Joe with me?" Connor asked eagerly.

"Well...I'll _play_ with you, but it won't be that."

"Aw..."

Jeff tuned out the rest of Cooper and Connor's conversation and just stared at the blood on James's shirt. He had seen people covered in blood before but this was different. This hadn't come from an accident or a wrestling match. This had come from something much more serious. "What did you do?" he asked, even though he already knew.

James winced as he saw the look on Jeff's face. "Well um...you see I--"

"Who was it?" Jeff interrupted, trying to tell himself to stop asking these questions. He was going to regret finding out the answers. He just knew it.

"Um...look, not all of this blood is from stuff I did. Connor--"

"That wasn't what I asked," Jeff reminded him.

"I know," James replied. "But you're not going to like my answer for your question."

"Why not?"

Before James could answer that (or once again avoid the question), Mark opened the door. He was breathing heavily and holding his sore knee. It appeared that he had just about killed himself getting up the stairs. His exhausted expression disappeared though when he saw that state James was in. "Oh Lawson..."

"I'm going to go shower," James announced. He bailed out of the room as fast as he could, leaving Jeff and Mark just standing there.

"Fucking hell," Mark muttered. He kept rubbing his sore knee. "Jeff?"

Jeff ignored Mark as he left the room and went back downstairs. He was out the front door and sitting down on the porch before Mark even had a chance to turn around. The blood on James's shirt had sparked something in his brain and now he couldn't stop picturing James randomly slaughtering people in the street. It was a very unsettling image...and it was one that was making Jeff start to think about things he didn't want to think about. _Fuck, Mark was right...I guess there was no avoiding this forever._


	28. Chapter 28

"Lawson! Open the damn door! You can't hide in the shower forever you dumbass!"

James continued to ignore Mark. Even though he had gotten done cleaning himself up nearly ten minutes ago, he hadn't gotten out of the shower yet. At first he had been hoping that the hot water would help clear his head, but now he was just hoping that if he stayed in the shower long enough, the consequences of his actions that he needed to face would just magically disappear. He knew that it was a completely useless hope, but he was going to give it a shot anyway."

"James seriously, unlock this fucking door!" Mark ordered. "I want to talk to you!"

"Leave me alone Mark," James snapped.

Mark was not going to be denied though. The next thing James knew, there was an extremely loud bang. He quickly opened up the shower curtain and saw that Mark had somehow managed to break open the door even though he was only on one good leg. "Holy shit Marky," James said in amazement. "Did you really have to kill my door?"

"Yes," Mark replied. He leaned against his crutches without taking his eyes off of his long time lover. "You can't hide in here all night. You need to talk to Jeff."

James groaned. "Can't you talk to him?"

The glare he got in response to that question was positively deadly. "I'm fucking serious Lawson," Mark said quietly. "You need to talk to Jeff and you need to do it now. I've tried talking to him but he's not giving me much to work with. It's you that he needs to speak to."

James sighed and shut off the water. "What the fuck am I supposed to say to him Marky?" he asked as he dried off.

Mark shook his head. "I don't really know."

"Well that's helpful," James said sarcastically. He dried off and put on his clean clothes. 'Where is he?"

"Sitting out on the porch," Mark answered. "James…just be gentle with him, alright? He had buried himself pretty deep in his denial and getting slapped in the face with this has rattled him."

James just nodded as he walked out of the bathroom. In retrospect, he realized that he and Mark should have prepared Jeff a little better for having to deal with the reality of the whole killing thing. Jeff taking the news so well in the beginning should have been recognized as a red flag that he was obviously not processing the news as he should have been. _We ignored it though,_ James thought to himself as he went down the stairs and out the front door. _We got caught up with this whole relationship and willingly ignored some of the stuff we should have been paying attention to. Now we're kind of fucked._

Jeff didn't turn around as James shut the front door behind him. James sighed and sat down next to the younger man. "Hey," he said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey," Jeff said back. He was picking at his sleeves and chewing on his lower lip.

"You probably shouldn't do that. You're going to end up ripping out your lip ring," James pointed out.

Jeff stopped and reached up so he could gently touch his own lip. "It's still there," he said a few seconds later. He finally looked over at James and stuck out his lower lip so James could see it for himself. "See?"

James grinned. Jeff looked so cute with his lip sticking out like that. "Yeah, I see," he said. He gave Jeff a little peck on the lips and sighed. "I don't know where to start," he admitted.

"You never told me who it was," Jeff reminded him. "Why wouldn't you tell me that?"

"You won't--"

"I don't care if I won't like the answer!" Jeff snapped. He was glaring at James now. "I just need to know."

James sighed. He knew that he was going to regret answering this question, and for a moment, he considered lying. But in the end he decided not to do that because things would probably get worse if he lied and Jeff somehow found out about that later. "I don't know who any of them were," he finally confessed.

Jeff's eyes widened. "Them?" he repeated. "There was more than one?"

"Yeah," James confirmed.

Jeff opened and closed his mouth wordlessly for a couple of minutes before finally speaking again. "How many?" he finally managed to ask.

"Four. Three chicks and one dude."

"Jesus Christ," Jeff mumbled. He got off the porch and started pacing back and forth on in front of the steps. "Four people? That blood on your shirt was from four people?"

"Actually that blood on my shirt was from people Connor killed," James corrected. "He got blood all over himself and then he hugged me and that's how the majority of it got on me."

Jeff stopped pacing and just looked at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" he asked.

James shrugged. "It wasn't meant to. I only told you that because it was the truth." He took his lighter out of his pocket and started clicking it over and over again as he looked up at Jeff.

"How?"

"How what? How did I kill them or how could I do it?"

"The second one."

_Of course it is. It's always that second fucking question_. "I think we've covered this before," James pointed out. "It's really easy for me to kill people. I don't really have that much of a conscience." He stood up so he could go sit on the railing instead. "Matt may annoy me and he might have too short of a leash on you sometimes, but he has the right idea about me. I'm evil…by society's standards anyway. I personally think that I'm a great guy."

"You are a good guy," Jeff said quietly. "It just…the things you do are really wrong."

James shook his head. "See, that's the problem. Everyone says that killing is wrong but for some reason, that doesn't _mean_ anything to me. It never has and it never will. I was born without that piece of compassion." He started playing with his lighter even more because he didn't have the cigarette that he desperately needed. "And I don't really see myself learning to care about humanity as a whole. You, Mark, Cooper and Connor are the only people that I give a shit about. Everyone else could go to hell for all I care."

Jeff started chewing on his lower lip again. James sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What?" he asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just…I don't know what to think anymore," Jeff said slowly. "I know I have to deal with this but I don't know how. I like what you, me and Mark have, but I don't understand how you can just go out and kill innocent people. I mean, people like Dave are one thing but innocent people…those are different."

James sighed. "Jeff, I don't know if understanding me is good for your mental health. The only people who get me completely are Mark and the kids, and they were born with the same loose screw that I was."

Jeff took that into consideration. "Mark used to be a killer and he stopped," he said. "And the only reason he killed again was because of Dave."

James looked at Jeff carefully. He already didn't like where Jeff was going with this. "Mark was a killer yeah, but he's not like me. Almost all of the murders he committed were done just because he could do it. He never got quite as much pleasure out of it as I did and still do."

Jeff shook his head. "That doesn't matter. If he could stop that means you can stop."

Now it was James's turn to shake his head. "No it doesn't."

"You won't know until you try."

"I have tried though. I tried for Annabelle's sake and none of my attempts amounted to a damn thing."

"Maybe you weren't ready then," Jeff said.

"Who says I'm ready now?" James countered. He had a feeling that he should just shut his up, but his mouth was not listening to his brain. "Who says I'll ever be ready? Killing isn't just something I do; it's a part of me. How the fuck am I supposed to fight myself?"

Jeff didn't answer him. Instead he just stared at him and he stared right back. A very uncomfortable silence settled between them. Finally Jeff just sighed and went back into the house. James almost stopped him but in the end he just let Jeff go. _Fuck, I knew that wasn't going to go well._

….

"I just don't know what to do about this Dad," Matt said, his lungs burning because he hadn't stopped to take a breath since Gil had asked him what was wrong. It was the next morning and he had called his father as soon as he had gotten up. Gil hadn't been able to get a word in lately, but in all honesty, he hadn't seemed to be trying that hard. He was just letting Matt talk about the entire James/Jeff/Mark situation. "I mean, I know Jeff's a grown man and is capable of making his own decisions. But this is beyond any other bad choice he has ever made. James is dangerous. Just because he says he doesn't mean any harm to Jeff doesn't mean that he won't end up hurting Jeff in some way." He had more to say but he finally had to stop and breathe.

"Matt, you have every right to be concerned," Gil said, finally speaking. "But I can't tell you what to do until I get every side of the story. I need to hear from Jeff--"

"I'll have him call you," Matt said immediately.

"No, I don't want him to call me," Gil objected. "I want him to bring Mark and James home to meet me. I want to sit down with the three of them and talk this out."

Matt's eyes widened. "Dad I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I didn't ask you whether it was a good idea or not," Gil said. "It's what's going to happen. I want to talk to Jeff and see what's going on in his head, I want to give Mark a chance to defend himself because I've always trusted him with you boys and I definitely need to meet James."

Matt did not think that this was a good idea at all, but he knew his father wasn't going to be swayed on this decision. If they didn't go to Cameron to meet him, he would fly out to wherever they were and make sure they couldn't avoid him. Gil didn't fuck around when it came his kids. "Alright," Matt agreed. "I'll see what I can do._" Oh God, I think I just set up a disaster._

…**.**

**A/N: That chapter was hard to write, and I don't see the next one being any easier ~winces at the thought~**

**Two more chapters left…and then it's sequel time.**


	29. Chapter 29

"You really need to stop chewing your fingernails," Mark told Jeff. "Eating your own nail polish chips is not a healthy thing to do. It's been proven to cause severe brain damage."

"It has not," Jeff said stubbornly. "You're just saying that."

"I am not. James tell him I'm not saying that."

James smirked. "He's just saying that Jeffey. You know how dear old Marky likes to worry."

Mark gave James an irritated glare. "You are the least helpful man ever."

"I know," James said proudly.

Jeff sighed and continued to bite his nails. He knew that he shouldn't do it but he couldn't help himself. He was so nervous that he thought he was going to throw up at any moment. His dad was insisting on meeting James and Jeff was terrified about how this meeting was going to go. There was so many ways that this could wrong that it wasn't even funny. He wished that they didn't have to do this but he knew there was no escaping it. This was happening whether he liked it or not.

"So do you think the others are going to find out?" James asked. "About me being a killer?"

Mark shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not going to tell them but seeing as how they're all nosy sons of bitches, they might eventually find out."

James laughed. He didn't seem bothered at all by this situation. Either he didn't realize the Legend did not play around after being told that about a dozen times or he just didn't care. Even Mark was nervous and he had become friend's with Gil over the years.

Mark pulled up in front of Gil's house and turned off the ignition. "Well…I guess we're here then," he said. He seemed to be in no hurry to get out of the car so they could go face the music.

Jeff leaned forward so he could get a good look at his dad. Gil was sitting there on the porch, casually drinking a beer and holding a shotgun in his hand. Matt and Adam were with him, drinking beers and watching the car carefully. "Oh boy," he muttered. "Oh boy oh boy oh boy."

James tilted his head to the side. "Huh. I wonder if Matt put him up to that gun thing." He didn't wait for Mark and Jeff to respond to that comment. He just got out of the car and began walking towards the house. Mark and Jeff exchanged quick look before quickly following their lover. Adam and Matt both stood up as they approached, Adam giving them a little wave and Matt just staring holes into James. James didn't even acknowledge Matt though. He just climbed up on to the porch and looked at Gil with great interest. "Am I supposed to kiss your ring or something?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "You're not in_ The Godfather_ James. You don't need to kiss his ring."

"I'm not even wearing a ring, so you couldn't kiss it even if we were," Gil said. He was looking up at James, taking in the killer's presence very carefully. He had on his best poker face, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling. "Would I be right in assuming that you're James?"

James nodded. "Yup." He was keeping himself pretty guarded too and Jeff felt like he was watching a Mexican standoff. Gil seemingly wasn't intimidated by James's presence and James didn't appear bothered by gun Gil was holding. He looked at Mark, who looked ready to jump if James made one wrong move and then he looked at Adam, who looked beyond uncomfortable. _Oh boy, this is going to be fun._

Gil and James both stared at each other for a little bit longer before the Legend finally looked over at Jeff. "Hey son," he said, his voice getting much warmer than it had been when he had addressed James.

"Hey Daddy," Jeff said. He refused to really look at Matt face to face. Even though he knew that Matt was just trying to look out for him, he really wished that his brother had just minded his own business. He had wanted to introduce James to Gil on his own terms, not have a meeting forced so the Legend could interrogate James.

Gil stood up. "Why don't you come in the house with me Jeffrey? There's some things you and I have to discuss."

Jeff reluctantly nodded. "Okay."

"Well jeez Jeff, stop looking like you just got told you were being sent to the gallows," James said with a shake of his head. "It's not like your dad's going to shoot you or anything. He's saving those bullets for me."

"You're not wrong about that," Matt muttered.

Jeff glared at his older brother. "You shut up," he ordered.

Matt tried to look innocent. "Jeff I--"

"Honey, please shut your mouth," Adam said quickly. He started pulling Matt away from Jeff. "Now is obviously not the time to be talking."

Gil looked back and forth between his boys before shaking his head. "Come on Jeff. Matt and Adam will keep James and Mark company until I'm ready to talk to them."

Jeff sighed and followed Gil into the house. For a moment it seemed like they were going to end up in the kitchen, but then they changed direction at the last second and ended up in the living room. Jeff waited until his dad sat down in his chair before sitting down on the couch. "Look, I don't know what Matt told you but--"

"Let's not worry about what Matt told me," Gil said with a wave of his hands. "I want to hear your side to all this. He leaned back in his chair. "When exactly did you meet James?"

"It was when Dave had me," Jeff answered. "Dave actually broke into his house and was keeping me there because he thought that the owners weren't home. Mark called him and told him what was going on and he came in and knocked out Dave before he could hurt me anymore." He barely noticed that he was compulsively wringing his hands together. He hated having to talk about Dave. He absolutely hated it. The sooner this part of the conversation was over, the better he would feel.

"Mark's known him since they were kids, right?" Gil asked.

Jeff nodded while wondering how much Matt had told their dad. "A couple weeks after the whole Dave thing, James started traveling with Mark."

"And how long was it until you got with them?"

"Not too long after I guess."

Gil took that information in. "Did you know about the whole murdering thing before you started dating them?"

Jeff shook his head. "I found out soon after though."

"And you're okay with it?"

This was the question that Jeff couldn't answer right away. When he had first found out the truth about the whole killing people thing, he had refused to really think about the whole thing. He had been so desperate to feel like himself again, and Mark and James had been able to make him feel that way when nobody else had. Add in the facts that he had loved Mark for years before this and he had quickly fallen in love James once he had started spending time with him and it made it that much easier for him to overlook the murder thing for quite awhile. Hell, he had had even excused the behavior, even though he knew that deep down, the excuses he had used were full of shit. But after seeing James come home with blood all over his shirt, it had thrown things in a new perspective for him. Innocent people were dying because of one of his lovers and he didn't like that. He wanted James to stop doing it. But at the same time, he still balked at the idea of James going to jail because he didn't want to lose him. James was a fucked up psychopath, but damn it, he was Jeff and Mark's fucked up psychopath and Jeff wanted him to stay with them.

"I don't like it," Jeff finally said slowly. "I thought I was okay with it but…I realized that I don't like it. But I don't want him to go to jail. That might be wrong for me to say but I don't care. I love him and Mark and you and Matt can think I'm stupid and blind all you want--"

Gil put up his hands. "Jeff please, I've never thought you were stupid and I sure don't think you are now. Now do I think you're being somewhat blind about this? Yes, but I also understand that love can do this sometimes." He leaned forward towards Jeff. "Do they treat you right?"

"Yes," Jeff said without hesitation.

"Has James ever murdered anyone in front of you?"

"No. He wouldn't do that. That…it's part of who he is but it's not the part that he lets out in front of me."

Gil sighed. "Alright."

Jeff raised his eyebrows. "That's it?"

"Well…this is it for _our_ conversation. What I want to do now is talk to James himself. And don't give me that look. You knew that this was going to happen when you came here."

"I know," Jeff said with a sigh. "I just don't like it. I feel like a teenaged girl who's boyfriend might get shot in the head by her overprotective father."

Gil chuckled. "Oh quit being overdramatic Jeffina."

"Dad!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Now be a good boy and fetch your murderer. He and I have things to discuss."

Jeff sighed. "Yes sir," he said under his breath. He got up and started heading back to the porch so he could go get James. All he could do now was hope that this would somehow go well. He didn't want to think about what could possibly happen if it didn't.

…

James hadn't been in Cameron too long but he already didn't like it. He was a city boy at heart and being stuck out here in the country with none of the usual city noises and smells was getting to him. "How can you people stand this?" he finally asked. "Jesus Christ, this place is driving me nuts."

Matt raised his eyebrows. "You got a problem with our home Lawson?"

"Fuck yeah I do," James confirmed. "There's too much…" he paused as he searched for the right word to use. "…._space_. Yeah, there's too much of that bullshit."

"Are you sure that you're not just upset about the fact there's not an abundance of innocent victims out here?"

Mark glared at Matt. "Watch it Hardy."

James smirked as Matt shut his mouth. "You got snapped at," he said gleefully.

Now Mark glared at James. "You need to watch it too. If it wasn't for your current extracurricular activities, we wouldn't _be_ in this situation."

James pouted. He didn't really think that was fair. He believed that everyone overreacting to this whole situation was where the majority of the problem was coming from. If everyone would just relax and take a chill pill, they would all be much better off.

The front door opened and out walked Jeff. "Hey," Mark said. "How did it go?"

Jeff just shrugged. "That's yet to be determined." He looked at James. "Dad wants to talk to you."

James sighed. _Here we go._ He got up to his feet and cracked his neck. He felt like he should be nervous about this, but he couldn't quite manage it. "Where is he?"

"In the living room," Jeff answered. He grabbed James's hand. "Come on. Just make sure to be respectful."

"I make no guarantees," James muttered as he let Jeff lead him into the house. Sure he had every intention of attempting to show respect, but he had never been in a situation quite like this before. Give him parents that hated him and wanted him dead and he would have known exactly what to do. But having to deal with a guy that was genuinely looking out for his own child and who wasn't a psychotic mass murderer made him feel completely out of his element.

When he and Jeff got to the living room, they found Gil absently leafing through the newspaper. When he noticed that they were in the room, he set the paper aside. "Thank you," he said Jeff. "Now can you--"

"I'm going I'm going," he said. He gave James a kiss before leaving the room. James tried to make it look that he was just watching him walk away instead of watching Jeff's ass, but apparently he didn't do a good job of it because when he looked over at Gil, the old man shook his head. "I saw that," the Legend said.

"Whoops," James said as he nonchalantly plopped down on the couch. "My bad."

Gil just shook his head. "Didn't anyone tell you it was rude to check out a man's son right in front of him?"

"No," James replied. "Besides, I think you should take it as a compliment. I mean, you helped produce him after all."

"Yeah well, I'll take that under consideration." Gil adjusted himself in his seat, refusing to take his eyes off of James for a second. "Now Mr. Lawson--"

"Call me James. Being called Mr. Lawson makes me feel weird."

"Fine. James, how old were you exactly when you started killing people?"

_Should I lie about this? I mean, the truth sounds kind of bad…but then again, honesty is supposed to be the best policy. And this old dude looks like the type to appreciate honesty._ "Eight," he answered. "I was eight."

Gil looked thrown for a loop by that answer. "Eight? You started pretty young."

James just shrugged. Honestly he was surprised that he hadn't killed someone sooner than that, but he wisely chose not to say that. That was just not going to help his case at all at the moment.

"Did you have the urge to kill before then or was it something that you stumbled into and found that you liked?"

"I had the urge before then but my first kills weren't one hundred percent planned. The first I guy I killed was a homeless dude who came out of nowhere and started grabbing my sister Annabelle. I think he was drunk and had no idea what he was doing but in the heat of the moment I grabbed a rock and bashed his head in. Then there was Grandpa, who did have it coming. He threatened Annabelle for sticking up to him for Grandma's sake and he was a nasty piece of work. He was big on raping his victims before he killed them, which is always a line I refuse to cross with any of my victims."

Gil raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but hearing a murderer talk about what lines he won't cross is kind of weird to me." He cast a quick look at his shotgun before looking back at James. "Did your parents know about what you killing people?"

"They did," James admitted. "Caroline figured it out after I wasted Grandpa and mercy killed Grandma. It took Joseph longer to catch on but he did get it eventually. _He got it as soon as I gutted him like a fish…but that's a different story._ "They didn't really give a shit about it though. Joseph was too busy following in Grandpa's footsteps and Caroline…well Caroline's not a subject that I want to get into."

Gil studied him carefully. "You can't talk about your own mother?"

James scowled. "Look, Gilbert, I understand the point of interrogating me. You're looking out for Jeff and I understand how that feels being a father myself. Plus, Jeff loves you to death so I agreed to this little meeting for his sake. But I swear to God, if you do not drop the Caroline subject right now, then we will have a _very_ big problem."

Gil mulled that over for a second before speaking again. "You're here today for him?"

"Yes. Only for him. Believe me, I hate being interrogated."

"I can tell. So why did you choose to do this for him?"

James rolled his eyes. He thought this was a stupid question but he gave an answer because he thought Gil needed to hear it. "Because I love him."

"As much as you love Mark?"

"Yes."

Gil folded his arms over his chest. "How do I know that you won't ever harm Jeff?"

James frowned. He felt really insulted by that question. "Because I wouldn't," he replied.

"That doesn't really reassure me."

James sighed. "Look, I'll be honest with you Gil. I've killed random people for just _looking_ at me wrong. I'm a hot head like that. But when it comes to the few people I give a damn about, then it's a whole different story."

"Is it now?"

"Yeah. Fuck, if you even knew about the shit I put up with from Mark…" His voice trailed off as he shook his head. He didn't want to go into detail about his and Mark's personal problems unless he absolutely had to.

Gil sighed. "Are you aware that your murderous activities bother Jeff?"

"It's been brought to my attention," James said, thinking back to his and Jeff's conversation at Mark's house.

"And what do you plan to do about it?"

James shrugged. He still hadn't figured that out. He was still kind of hoping that he wouldn't have to do anything.

Gil shook his head. "That's not a good enough answer. I'm going to tell you something about Jeff: when he loves someone, he's willing to sacrifice almost everything he is and has for that person. It's only fair that the person who says he loves him too to do the same thing. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

James sighed. He knew exactly what Gil was getting at. Gil wanted him to give up killing for Jeff's sake. _It keeps coming back to that fucking choice…_ "I've tried it before," he confessed. "It didn't really work out too well."

"How long ago was that?"

"I was nineteen."

Gil shook his head. "A lot has probably changed since then. Maybe it's time to give it another chance…that is, if you care about Jeff as much as you say you do." He got up to his feet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to Mark."

James watched him go, his teeth grinding together so hard that it really started to hurt. _Did he just attempt to guilt trip me or something?_ He growled. He didn't really like that tactic. It had always annoyed him when Annabelle had tried to use it and it annoyed him now.

He got back up to his feet and kicked the coffee table over before leaving the room. Instead of going out the front door, he decided to go out the back. He couldn't be bothered by anyone else right now. He had some serious thinking to do.


	30. Chapter 30

Mark leaned up against the house and stared back at Gil. "Are you ever going to say something?" he asked, really hating the silence. He never liked silences like this unless he was the one giving the treatment. "I mean, this is supposed to be a talk after all."

Gil shook his head. "All these damn years Mark…I've fed you, I've had you in my home, I trusted my boys with you and you never once thought to mention that you not only have a long standing relationship with a psychopathic killer, but you also have happened to have killed people in the past."

"Well…to be fair, I never told you that I _didn't_ have or do any of those things," Mark said with a shrug. "Plus, how exactly was I supposed to bring all that shit up?"

"Don't have good point right now Mark. It ruins the flow of the conversation I'm trying to have with you." He adjusted the hat that was on his head before continuing. "Now I'm going to tell you straight up that I'm not really okay with this little threesome you and your psycho have going on with my son."

Mark sighed. He had been expecting to hear that. "What if it was just me or James that was involved with Jeff? How would you feel about that?"

Gil glared at him. "Well if it was just you and I found all this out, I would have less of a problem."

"And if it was just James?"

"We would have an even bigger problem," Gil replied without hesitation. "I don't trust him. I know you and Jeff do, but quite frankly, he's got a long way to go before he even begins to prove himself to me."

Mark raised his eyebrows. "So wait…you're not gonna like…call the cops on him or anything?" _Because if you do Legend, I don't want to say this, but you and will have a BIG problem if you do that._

Gil hesitated. "Not yet," he finally said. "I'm going to be honest with you Mark by saying that I don't think prison would keep him from killing. Hell, he doesn't strike me as the type to even be _contained_ by a prison." He gave Mark a serious look. "Am I right in that assumption?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah. If they ever caught him, they wouldn't be able to keep him. He wouldn't allow it."

Gil sighed. "I hate being right sometimes." He was silent for a really long minute. "Some people would say that there's a demon in him. Whether he was born with it or whether it was created could be up for debate. Quite frankly, I don't really give a rat's ass which it is. What matters to me is whether or not he can control this demon while he's with my son…or better yet, beat it." He took a deep breath. "Sometimes love can beat the demon…I think we all better hope that's the case this time, because I have a bad feeling that this won't end well for any of us if it doesn't." He began to walk away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a pig to go roast."

Mark leaned his head back against the house and waited until Gil was out of sight before sighing and shaking his head. He didn't know what to think about the whole love beating the demon idea. On the surface it seemed plausible, but he knew James too well to have any real faith in him when it came to this. Killing wasn't just something that James did; it was a part of _him_. It was ingrained into his system utterly and completely at this point.

_But maybe this time will be different,_ a little voice in the back of his head said. For some reason, it sounded a lot like Jeff. _Maybe he can really do it this time. Even after all of these years, he's still capable of surprising you._

That last part was definitely true, but he still had his doubts. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, his doubts weren't what mattered. What mattered was whatever James decided to do. Once James made his choice, then he was just going to have to accept it and help everyone deal with the consequences that came afterwards. _I'm always dealing with the consequences of James's actions,_ he thought with a tired sigh._ He's lucky I love him so much or I would have stopped doing this kind of shit a long time ago. It's fucking exhausting._

…

Adam looked back and forth between Jeff and Matt. Neither of them had said a word to each other ever since Jeff had come back from taking James to talk to Gil. It was not only completely frustrating, but it was totally stupid. "Guys come on, this is not even funny even more," he said in exasperation. He was seriously ready to hit the both of them. "There is no reason for you to be ignoring each other."

Matt shook his head. "I'm not ignoring anyone. I just don't want to say anything because Jeff will just get mad at me."

Jeff glared at him. "Are you saying I overreact? How could you say that? You bast--"

"Hey hey hey!" Adam exclaimed, waving his hands and shaking his head emphatically. "That's enough!"

Jeff fell silent…for about two seconds. Then he pointed to Matt and said "He started it!"

"How did I start it?" Matt asked incredulously.

"Oh don't play dumb with me! You know what you did!"

"Okay, what part of that's enough do you guys not understand?" Adam asked impatiently. He was two seconds away from grabbing the hose and spraying both of them. "Look, I know exactly what this is about. Matt, you don't trust Jeff's judgment regarding James because of the whole Dave thing. And Jeff, you're pissed because you think Matt's trying to run your life. But you know what? You both just need to get over it."

Matt raised his eyebrows. "You make it sound so simple."

"That's because it _is_ simple," Adam insisted. "Come on you guys, you two love the hell out of each other. Can't you both be mature for once and agree to disagree about James? At least for right now?"

Jeff smirked. "You're talking to us about maturity Adam? You're the one who's campaigning to get Bananas in Pajamas back on TV."

"Hey! That was an awesome show! And that's not even the point, Mr. I Threw A Temper Tantrum When They Fucked With My Rugrats." Adam smirked at the look on Jeff's face. "Yeah, I heard about that, so don't you--"

"Okay, I'm going to step in here," Matt said quickly. He got out of his chair and made sure to stand in between Adam and Jeff. "I don't want this to get ugly." He gave Jeff a serious look. "Look, you know I just worry about you. Sometimes you don't always make the best choices for yourself--"

"Oh yes, throw that in my face," Jeff muttered. "Like I don't already know."

"Jeff please, I'm not trying to throw anything into your face. I just…I'm trying to watch out for you. James freaks me out and that's just the way it is."

Jeff stayed defiant for a moment before sighing. "I know," he muttered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Adam asked. To him it appeared that Jeff was pretty worn out.

Jeff opened his eyes and started to answer, but something that caught his attention made him pause. Adam and Matt looked to see what it was and saw that James was coming towards them. "Why didn't he come out the front door?" Adam asked to nobody in particular.

Matt shrugged. "I have no idea." He was giving James a distrustful look, but that didn't seem to phase the murderer at all. In fact, he completely ignored Matt and Adam and beckoned Jeff to come over to him. "We need to talk," he announced.

Jeff nodded and got up to his feet. "Okay. I'm coming."

Adam watched Jeff go to James and then watched as the two of them walked a good distance away so they could have their privacy. "What do you think's going to happen between them and Mark," he asked as he rested his chin on Matt's shoulder.

Matt shrugged. "I don't know." He turned around and wrapped his arms around Adam's waist. "I'm kind of hoping they just go their separate ways, but it's not up to me. Jeff's going to do what he damn well pleases and there's not a whole lot I can do to stop him. Well…not without causing him to hate me anyway."

Adam smirked. "You finally realized that?"

"Oh I've realized it a long time ago. I just don't like admitting it." He pressed his forehead against Adam's. "I just don't want to see him get hurt from all this."

"I know you don't," Adam said with a sigh. He gave Matt a gentle kiss on the lips before shaking his head. "Maybe it'll all work itself out. I mean, stranger things have happened."

"They have?"

"Yes. I mean, Mae Young did give birth to a hand after all so--"

"That was an angle honey. That didn't actually happen."

Adam frowned. "Matt, when I throw an example at you, you are not supposed to shoot it down with facts. Come on man, get with the damn program!"

Matt grinned. "Sorry baby."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it. I need an orgasm to make me feel better."

Matt rolled his eyes before tossing Adam over his shoulder. "Is that all you ever think about dear?"

"Yes it is. Is that a problem?"

"Nope. It's what I love most about you."

…

Jeff watched Adam and Matt go into the house before shaking his head and looking at James. "We should probably stay out here till they're done," he said. "Those two are obnoxiously loud when they get started."

James raised his eyebrow. "Are they trying to overcompensate for something?"

Jeff shrugged. "I don't know. I've never slept with either one of them." He shoved his hands into his pocket. They were standing under a tree so at least they were out of the sun. Unfortunately, it was still hotter than hell, so it wasn't the most comfortable place to have a conversation. "So um, how did the talk with Dad go?"

James shook his head. "I don't know."

"How do you not know? You were there!"

"But I'm not a good judge at that kind of stuff," James pointed out. "I've never had a real conversation with a parent before." He rubbed the back of his neck. "He did tell me that I needed to make a choice between you and the killing…at least I think he did. He was trying to pull all kinds of ninja mind tricks on me so I'm not entirely sure what--"

"Ninja mind tricks?"

"Yes. Just go with it."

"Okay." Jeff snickered a little before sighing. "So um…where do we go from here?"

James sighed. "I…look, I'm not like Mark. This whole killing thing is different for me than it was for him. When he wanted to stop, he was able to stop. And I'll be honest, I don't _want _to stop…but I guess if its for you I can…. I can give it a shot."

Jeff's eyes widened. "Are you serious? You would really do that for me?"

James hesitated and then nodded. "I'm not making any guarantees Jeff. I know myself too well to do that."

Jeff shook his head and wrapped his arms around James's neck. "I think you're underestimating yourself. I don't think I've met anyone as strong willed as you are. You put me and Matt to shame."

James shook his head. "I think you're giving me too much credit. When it comes to this, there's only so much faith you can put in me."

"Yeah well, I guess we'll find out which one of us is right soon enough." Jeff took a step back and then grabbed James by the hand. "Come on. Let's go tell Mark the news."

"He's not going to have much faith in me either you know."

"Yeah well, that's why you guys have me," Jeff replied with a grin. He tried to pull James along but quickly realized that he wasn't strong enough to do that. "Well are you going to come or not?"

"I'm coming," James muttered as he began to walk. His eyes betrayed how apprehensive he actually was.

Jeff sighed and kept pulling James along. He made a mental note to talk to Mark alone and make sure the both of them got on the same page regarding this turn of events. He had a feeling that James was going to need more than their full support with this whole thing._ Which we'll do provide one way or another,_ he swore to himself. _I don't care what Matt says. I love him too much to give up on him. And if he's willing to try, then I'll think we'll be okay. _

…**.**

**So…James is giving up killing for Jeff. And while that sounds noble and sweet and all that good stuff, I'll tell you right now that there's going to be major consequences coming from that decision. **

**I started doing an outline for what I want to do in the sequel and I realized that I have a hell of a lot of stuff to get through. There's the fallout from the James thing, Shawn and John's wedding, a new twist in the Matt and Adam relationship and I need to have all kinds of fun with Randy and Cody *takes another look at the outline and bangs head against the desk* Oh boy, this is going to be so much fun.**


End file.
